


An Uncommon Want [HIATUS]

by jinfanfics



Category: Bleach
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Lovers, Grimmjow wants to pummel Ichigo into the ground, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots, M/M, mostly human Ichigo, slower burn, until he realizes he might want something else as well, world after Aizen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2020-10-25 16:40:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20727407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinfanfics/pseuds/jinfanfics
Summary: When one of Urahara’s freak products disables him from using his shinigami form, Ichigo is left to wait out the effects of it to disappear.After all, as Urahara said, there is no imminent threat right now, so he needn’t worry so much.…“Oi, shinigami. I came to kill you.”Ichigo stood frozen in his spot as he took in the arrancar before him, the same spiky blue hair, the scar Ichigo left him with on his bare chest, that usual cocky smirk and the way his icy blue eyes were filled with the unmistakable bloodlust.Yeah, no imminent threat indeed.Just one mad arrancar after his life.Fucking Urahara.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have been under some stress lately and haven't been able to write, so I thought of drawing today. Somehow, I started drawing GrimmIchi and then I got the inspiration for this fic. I included the drawing, although it's shitty, but why not. Also, Grimm's nose disappeared lmao, cuz at that time I was already working out the first chapter in my head and I completely rushed the drawing. Oops.

“What do you mean that my shinigami form is temporarily unavailable?” Ichigo asked, a crease forming between his eyebrows as he stared at Urahara.

The blonde man in front of him wore a serious expression, although his voice was light, as if he was talking about something trivial and not about the fact that Ichigo lost his ability to turn into a shinigami.

A sense of dread filled his chest as reality hit him.

He was left defenseless, if anyone tries to attack him, or his friends, he would be fucking useless.

But then again, Aizen was gone and the only arrancars that survived were Nel and Grimmjow, although he hadn’t seen them for months now.

Nel wasn’t a problem, but Grimmjow…An image of the bloodthirsty blue-haired arrancar with a maddening smirk flashed before his eyes, causing his heart to skip a beat.

He knew that Grimmjow would come for him eventually, for the fight Ichigo owed him.

And the weird thing was that Ichigo had kind of been looking forward to it.

The war was over, there were no major threats anymore and that was great.

However, Rukia and the others were busy rebuilding Seireitei, none of them having time to hang out with him, less alone engage in a fun combat.

And he missed it, the thrill of it, the power surging through him as he clashed his zanpakuto with an opponent, the excitement he felt when the other fought back, causing him to back down, to rethink, making him stronger.

Though he hated to admit it, the only person right now, who could cause that sensation in him again, was the unstable blue-haired arrancar, who was probably in Las Noches, ruling it as he was now the king there.

Grimmjow hadn’t come for him yet, and Ichigo even felt a bit disappointed, but not enough to seek him out.

He wasn’t that crazy to be chasing after the arrancar who wanted nothing more than to obliterate his presence completely.

Nevertheless, he wanted to be ready when the arrancar finally came after him.

And he couldn’t do that, if he wasn’t able to get into his shinigami form.

“Kurosaki-san that will teach you not to eat things you find lying about, whose origin is unknown to you,” the hat and sandals bastard had the nerve to say as he fanned himself.

“The fuck, Urahara, I thought it was a freaking jelly bean and not one of your sick experimental pills!” Ichigo growled, feeling irritated that he was the one being chided when it was the blonde man, who was leaving all sorts of dangerous things lying around his house.

“That will serve you as a lesson to ask before you put something in your mouth,” the bastard said smugly, the implication not going unnoticed, Ichigo’s ears getting warmer as he told him what a pervert he was.

Urahara simply closed his fan and smirked even wider, cooing at how innocent he was.

Ichigo averted his gaze, feeling even more embarrassed that he was still an 18-year old virgin, the war with Aizen kind of ruining any chances of him doing anything with anyone.

Although, it wasn’t as if he was ever really interested in someone enough to try anything.

A flash of intense blue eyes and a smug smirk flashed in his mind, before he frowned and shook his head, wondering where the hell that came from.

He was brought out of his confusion by Urahara, who stated calmly, “It shouldn’t last long—a couple of days probably, or maybe even a week, or two.”

“A WEEK OR TWO?!” Ichigo yelled in disbelief, feeling oddly vulnerable.

“You’ll be fine, Kurosaki-san. After all, there is no imminent threat at the moment and you should really focus on your human life,” Urahara said dismissively, not even realizing how that left a bitter taste in Ichigo’s mouth.

Human life.

Normal life.

Yeah, but he was anything but normal, Ichigo thought, his expression darkening.

………………………………………..

It had been a few days already, but Ichigo was still stuck in his human body.

He could feel smaller hollows around Karakura at night, but they would disappear soon enough, the shinigami in charge probably getting rid of them.

After all, he was useless now and all he could do was wait.

He kicked a rock in front of him, which rolled away with a loud thud, landing in front of someone’s feet.

He was just about to apologize when his blood went cold at the gruff voice that came from that person.

“Oi, shinigami. I came to kill you.”

Ichigo stood frozen in his spot as he took in the arrancar before him, the same spiky blue hair, the scar Ichigo left him with on his bare chest, that usual cocky smirk and the way his icy blue eyes were filled with the unmistakable bloodlust, shining even brighter under the moonlight.

Yeah, no imminent threat indeed.

Just one mad arrancar after his life.

Fucking Urahara.

He was all alone, still in his school uniform as he went to the karaoke with Chad, Ishida and Inoue after school, his friends having tried to cheer him up, having noticed his unusually bad mood.

He hadn’t told anyone about his situation, too embarrassed to admit it to anyone.

Besides, Urahara did say his powers would come back soon, so he saw no need to tell it to anyone.

Except now when there was one dangerous arrancar in front of him, leering at him, a look of a hunter in his eyes.

Shit.

Okay, don’t panic, he told himself as he took a steady breath.

He was sure that if he explained it to Grimmjow, the arrancar would be reasonable and just wait for his powers to return, so that they can fight properly.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the arrancar, responding with conviction, “Sorry, but that’s going to have to wait.”

Ichigo knew that that wasn’t going to sit well with the bluenette, but he was still kind of taken aback with the rage and malice in Grimmjow’s expression and voice as the arrancar spat out, “The fuck are you talking about, trash shinigami?!”

Ichigo bristled at the insult, his jaw clenching in an instant.

He saw a flicker of amusement in Grimmjow’s eyes at his reaction and had to remind himself that he was currently in no state to take on the arrancar.

That was why he let out a resigned sigh as he tried again to reason with Grimmjow.

“I am stripped of my shinigami powers at the moment, so you’ll have to wait for them to come back,” Ichigo stated calmly.

However, the arrancar seethed at that, his voice a low growl, his eyes flaming with rage, “Don’t fuck with me, Kurosaki.”

“Think what you want, stupid asshole, but I am not going to fight you!” Ichigo shouted, his gaze hard.

He felt the oppressing reiatsu Grimmjow emitted, leaving him breathless and in the blink of an eye, the arrancar was gone.

“Where—“ Ichigo breathed out, chills running down his spine as he felt a bloodthirsty presence behind him.

“Right here, _shinigami_,” Grimmjow spoke lowly, suddenly appearing behind him, so close that Ichigo could feel his hot breath against his ear, the arrancar’s vicious chuckle causing his body to scream at him _to run, to flee, to—!_

“Too slow,” the man behind him added in a seemingly bored voice as Ichigo tried to get away from the dangerous arrancar, only for his wrist to be caught in a painful grip as the bluenette spun him easily to face him.

Fuck.

He was immediately greeted by that manic grin, sharp, white canines peeking out, eager cerulean eyes boring into him.

“Fucking let go of me!” Ichigo screamed as he trashed and tried to free himself of Grimmjow’s unrelenting hold on him, the arrancar’s long fingers digging into the tender skin of his wrist, sure to leave dark bruises there tomorrow.

His desperate struggle to get away from the blue-haired madman just caused Grimmjow to grin wider, his eyes shining with excitement as he leaned in, their noses almost touching, the arrancar not at all bothered by the concept of personal space.

Ichigo backed away instinctively, but the arrancar harshly pulled him closer, his voice rough as he causally stated, “Nah. I’d rather beat you to a bloody pulp.”

Ichigo’s heart slammed against his chest, his eyes growing wide as the arrancar opened a garganta, his plan becoming increasingly clear.

Ichigo didn’t even have the time to yell something as he was mercilessly thrown into the black hole, no Zangetsu at his side, the murderous reiatsu being his only companion, steady and pouring with unmistakable need to hurt,_ to destroy_, as the arrancar closed the garganta behind them and let the darkness envelop them.

………………………………………..

Ichigo landed hard on his back in the familiar desert of Hueco Mundo, every bone in his body aching.

He groaned as he rolled to the side, trying to regain his breath.

“Get the fuck up, shinigami,” Grimmjow roared somewhere above him.

Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to disperse the stars dancing in his vision as he slowly propped himself on his hand.

His eyes fluttered open, light dizziness causing him to see a blurry shape a few feet away from him.

He blinked a couple of times, before the arrancar came into focus, his hands in his pockets, his black jacket unzipped as always, revealing his bare chest and the scar Ichigo had inflicted upon him during their first encounter.

As insane as it may sound, Ichigo mostly felt guilty about that, although he knew that if the murderous arrancar heard him say that, he would end his life with one slice of the Panthera.

However, it wasn’t as if Grimmjow wasn’t exactly planning on doing that very same thing, judging by the way he was observing him, impatience obvious in his unreal blue eyes blazing with the desire to kill.

Ichigo swallowed as he somehow managed to force his body in a sitting position.

He glared at the arrancar, who still hadn’t moved, and spat out, “I am in my human form, you fucking asshole!”

Grimmjow cocked his head to the side, his gaze disinterested as he asked impassively, “So?”

Ichigo wanted to scream in frustration and bash the idiot’s head, but instead he got up on unsteady feet, glaring daggers at the asshole in front of him as he angrily explained, “So, I can’t fight you, you thick-headed arrancar!”

Grimmjow seethed at the insult, his eyebrows drawing in a scowl as he disappeared in an instant.

Ichigo only had time to blink, before the arrancar appeared in front of him, his fingers instantly curling into his collar and pulling him forward, Ichigo’s forehead colliding with the arrancar’s.

Ichigo let out a painful gasp, but the bastard before him didn’t seem to care as he gripped his collar tighter, making it hard for Ichigo to breathe properly.

“You are going to fight me, in whichever form, you fucking trash shinigami! Don’t back down on your promise, you piece of shit!” Grimmjow snarled in his face, his sapphire eyes stormy and full of rage.

Ichigo curled his fingers into a fist, anger building up in him as he growled, “I am not, you stupid asshole! What’s the point of fighting, if I can’t even draw my zanpakuto, you stubborn jerk!” and then he put all his strength and spiritual pressure into punching Grimmjow straight into his annoying face.

He knew that it was a bad idea, seeing how he was stranded in the hollow world in his human form with one mad arrancar out for his life, but hell, it sure was satisfying hearing something crack as his fist collided with the bastard’s face, the arrancar stumbling back a few steps, surprise written across his face.

Ichigo’s knuckles throbbed, his knees going slightly weak from using that much spiritual force while in his human body, but he did not back down as he smirked at the arrancar, whose nose was bleeding heavily, his bottom lip split.

Good.

That’ll teach the fucking dickhead a lesson.

Grimmjow stood still for a few moments, his tongue licking the blood away, Ichigo watching his throat work as he swallowed the red liquid.

Then, much to Ichigo’s horror, the arrancar locked his heavy gaze with him as he wore a crazy grin.

“I knew you had it in you, even in that weak-ass body,” Grimmjow smirked, causing fear to course through Ichigo’s body as he realized that the arrancar wouldn’t stop, no matter what form he was in.

He opened his mouth, not entirely sure what he wanted to say, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a loud hiss as the arrancar materialized in front of him, the glint in his eyes predatory as he kicked him right into the stomach, the blow so strong that it sent Ichigo flying to the dune a good couple meters away.

Even the softness of the sand did nothing to stop the painful moan that escaped his lips as his back collided into it, his insides twisting, his breath coming in abortive gasps.

“Stop fucking around and get up. I went easy on ya,” Grimmjow bellowed, standing above him in the air, watching him with something close to disappointment.

Ichigo hated it.

He wasn’t weak and like hell was he going to let the arrogant bastard think that he wasn’t a match for him.

He gritted his teeth, trying to will away the pain spreading across his middle, the slight tilt upwards of Grimmjow’s mouth, as well as the light in those narrow, sapphire eyes, spurring Ichigo on to lean on his elbows as he tried to get up.

He was sure that he would make it, but as his palms touched the soft sand and he tried to sit up, a strong sense of vertigo hit him, causing him to curse under his breath as he crumbled back to the sand.

His eyes fell shut on their own, his breathing quickening as he prayed for the spinning in his head to stop.

“Oi, shinigami. Are you fucking with me right now?”

The snarl which was way too close and the breath hitting his face made him open his eyes with great effort, only to find himself staring into a pair of raging blue orbs burning holes into his face.

“Fuck off,” Ichigo mumbled, not even managing to convey the heat behind it as he winced when another wave of dizziness slammed into him, Grimmjow’s intense spiritual pressure suffocating him.

“Don’t you fucking faint on me, Kurosaki, or I will kill you,” Grimmjow roared as he grabbed the collar of his blood-stained white uniform, bringing their faces close enough that Ichigo could see the different hues of the arrancar’s teal lines above his mask.

Ichigo huffed a chuckle, not really finding anything funny about the situation he was in, but he relished in the deepening frown on the arrancar’s face.

“Do whatever you want, Grimmjow. Never took you for a coward, though…” Ichigo rasped out, the last thing he saw before he succumbed to darkness being the comical widening of Grimmjow’s eyes, his expression affronted.

Ichigo would have laughed at that, if he could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote for hours today, because I knew that I probably won't have much time t write during the week. Also, here is some more of my 'fanart' lmao, I really want to draw for this fic, but I just scribble and do it messily, I have no patience for drawing.

Grimmjow stared at the brat underneath him in utter shock as Kurosaki’s half-lidded eyes finally closed, the shinigami’s body going limp.

He still had a hold onto his collar, but he couldn’t let go, deeply insulted by the last comment the shithead made.

A coward? Him?

He was a lot of things, but he was never a coward and the ginger piece of shit knew that better than anyone and yet he had the nerve to spout such shit, before passing out.

Grimmjow’s jaw hurt with how hard he was grinding his teeth as he stared at the asshole beneath him, wondering what to do with the useless sack of bones.

He could simply end him.

He should, especially after that bullshit the brat said, but… It wouldn’t be satisfying.

He wanted to break Kurosaki, to see him helpless and begging him to spare his life.

He wanted to see him covered in blood, to see the realization that he lost in those goddamned, large cinnamon eyes, to relish in the moment when the shinigami would give up, acknowledging that Grimmjow was stronger than him, better than him, _more powerful_ than him.

However, with the poor state the shitface was currently in, it seemed Grimmjow would have to wait.

And if he hated anything, it was having to be patient.

Nevertheless, it would make their next encounter better.

The anticipation of the fight would make it taste sweeter, Kurosaki’s defeat was almost tangible in his mouth and he wanted it so much that he couldn’t help but grin wickedly just thinking about it.

He looked at the brat underneath him, who hadn’t moved at all after passing out, noticing how his face was paler than usual, his pulse beneath Grimmjow’s fingers faint.

Grimmjow frowned, thinking how bothersome the shinigami was.

He had been certain that Kurosaki was lying to him about not being able to get into his shinigami form, just to ignore him and drive him to the edge and one of the things that drove Grimmjow insane was not being acknowledged.

Particularly by his long-time enemy.

That was why he brought the arrogant brat to Hueco Mundo, thinking how the shithead would have no option, but to get into his shinigami form and fight him until they were both left bloodied and broken, the ginger on his knees with Grimmjow smirking at him while landing the final blow.

As it turned out, the troublesome jerk wasn’t lying apparently, Grimmjow realized, a dissatisfied growl leaving his lips.

“Fucking bothersome,” he grumbled under his breath as he pulled the brat’s lifeless body with ease and slung him over his shoulder in one swift movement.

He snapped his fingers, the garganta opening before his eyes.

“Yo, Kurosaki. Can you hear me, ginger bastard?” Grimmjow tried, his voice low and rough as he shook the body that he was carrying.

The brat did not even stir.

With a resigned groan and a colourful string of curses, Grimmjow stepped into the darkness with the unmoving shinigami over his shoulder.

………………………………………..

It was easy to sneak into the Kurosaki household unnoticed.

He already knew where the brat lived, having stalked him a few times after the war, but the orange-haired idiot always sucked at sensing reiatsus, so he never noticed.

Grimmjow had been itching for that rematch every single moment, but after Aizen’s downfall, he had to take care of some things in Hueco Mundo, in order to establish his status as the new king there.

It wasn’t particularly hard to do so, the other hollows left being nothing in comparison to him, except Nel, who unfortunately survived as well.

However, the drooling idiot was more of a nuisance than an actual threat and Grimmjow had no reason to kill her for now.

Still, he went into the world of living a few times, observing the shinigami, whose blood he craved to spill again until there wasn’t a drop left in the brat’s body.

He would get bored pretty fast while following the ginger, the kid’s life at Earth being extremely dull which was why he never stuck around for long.

At last, he was able to go and challenge the shinigami and what was it that he got?

A shell of a brat he knew, the fire in those eyes not visible as they were closed, the fierceness replaced by a placid expression as Grimmjow unceremoniously dropped the ginger on the bed in his room.

He stared at the _human_, the very notion leaving a bad taste in his mouth, who was now frowning in his sleep, a light sheen of sweat rolling down his temple.

He wanted to hit and kick Kurosaki until the brat was choking in his own blood, but he couldn’t.

Not with the way the ginger looked so fragile at the moment.

_Fucking disgusting, _Grimmjow thought and glared at the unconscious shinigami.

Or, ex-shinigami, he grimaced at the thought.

How the hell could his powers disappear?

And when the hell were they coming back?!

Grimmjow let out a low growl as he raked his hand through his blue locks in frustration.

What the fuck was he supposed to do while waiting for the sleeping princess to wake the fuck up and face him?!

Hueco Mundo was so fucking boring that he had the urge to strangle himself, or that drooling retard, who kept pestering him.

The only thing worthwhile was, or had been, the stupid brat who was now looking pathetic.

Also, in his human form, the idiot even smelled different.

Grimmjow leaned closer, sniffing the sleeping boy, who rolled to lie on his side.

The scent was more meaty, more metallic, the scent of blood stronger when he was in that form, the flesh so alive, so _tempting._

Grimmjow’s eyes snapped open and he wondered when he had even closed him as he stared at Kurosaki in horror.

What the hell was that sensation he felt?

It was bloodlust as usual, but there was something else….Hunger indeed, but beneath it there was something else as well…_Desire_, but for what exactly?

The shithead did look helpless as Grimmjow always dreamed of seeing him, of being the one to do that to him, but it was somehow wrong.

This did not bring satisfaction to him.

The shinigami just looked way too breakable and also, this was not a product of a fight which would have lit up Grimmjow on the inside, exhilarating him, Kurosaki’s human scent currently overwhelming him, causing him to feel nauseous.

He stepped back when the brat’s breath stuttered, as he struggled to breathe in his sleep.

Grimmjow’s gaze hardened as his eyes swept over the ginger one more time.

If he couldn’t even survive the night, then he was definitely not worth of Grimmjow’s time, no matter how much he ached to fight the short-tempered brat.

He turned around, ready to step out of the window and go back to his kingdom.

He threw one last look at the shinigami, spitting at the carpet near the bed.

“Fucking weak,” he said with contempt, before using his sonido to get away from the pitiful sight of the shinigami that made his blood boil.

………………………………………..

“It’s almost been a month, Urahara. A whole fucking month and still nothing,” Ichigo raised his voice, angry and desperate.

His feeling of being defeated grew even more when he saw how Urahara was not even fanning himself, or wearing that creepy smile of his.

Shit.

That meant that even he was starting to get the gravity of the situation.

“It appears that I have underestimated the effects of the shinigami-sealer,” Urahara murmured as he stroked his chin in thought.

Ichigo clenched his fist, spitting out sarcastically, “You think?”

The blonde man narrowed his eyes at him, a dangerous smirk gracing his face, almost causing Ichigo to gulp.

The eccentric shopkeeper, despite seeming foolish at times, could be very scary and it was because of his usual antics that Ichigo kept forgetting how powerful he was in fact.

“There, there, Kurosaki-san, I’m sure it will wear off soon enough. Besides, it isn’t like you need your powers at the moment, right? No one waiting for you to fight them, or am I mistaken?”

Ichigo’s gaze hardened, his heart beating slightly faster.

He hadn’t told anyone about his encounter with the violent arrancar more than 3 weeks ago, but somehow it seemed that Urahara knew and was now testing him, daring him to say something.

Well, Ichigo sure as hell wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

That was why he grinded his teeth and answered, “No, you are not mistaken.”

The moment he saw the knowing glint in the blonde man’s eyes as he opened his fan once again to cover his smug grin, Ichigo knew he wasn’t fooling anyone.

“My, my, then what’s the rush? Just be patient and I guarantee that your powers will come back faster than you think,” Urahara dismissed him easily, before getting up and going to the kitchen.

Ichigo stared at the ground while trying to steady his quickened breath.

He turned without a word and left, feeling trapped in his skin and just needing to get into the fresh air, to run, to get away, to fight, to feel _truly alive._

It still stung.

The memory of him waking up alone in his bed that night, feeling as he was ran over by a train, even the hairs on his body aching.

But, the worst part was the realization.

The last thing he did before he passed out was insult the feral arrancar in the worst way possible and yet he was still breathing.

Not only did Grimmjow let him live, but he also apparently brought him back to Karakura, to his bed.

The unexpected action haunted Ichigo more than it should have and while he knew that Grimmjow was in fact not a coward and had some twisted code of honour which did not allow him to kill his enemy while he was already down, it still made no sense.

The arrancar could have just left him in the desert, considering his pathetic state had probably been an offense to the aggressive man.

However, he did not which was why it got Ichigo thinking.

Could it be that Grimmjow was actually giving him a chance to get his powers back and then seek him out?

The very possibility that the arrancar still considered him an opponent worth fighting caused Ichigo’s blood to run faster through his veins, anticipation building inside of him.

That was why he had to get his powers back as soon as possible.

He owed it to Grimmjow.

And he would be damned to just sit around and do nothing.

That was why he changed his direction, going to Ishida’s house instead of his own.

A plan was already forming in his head and all he needed now was his friend’s help.

………………………………………..

“You can’t be serious,” Ishida said, a deep frown settled between his brows as he stood opposite Ichigo in his kitchen, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Why not? You know that I have been going crazy without my powers,” Ichigo insisted, feeling desperate and on edge.

He had finally told his friends about the predicament he was in a week ago and they all seemed sympathetic then, so why the hell was Ishida staring at him in a disapproving manner right now?

“Because, what you are saying is insane. I am not going to fight you and risk hurting you, just because you think it might trigger your shinigami powers,” Ishida stated with resolution which was how Ichigo found himself glaring at one of his closest friends.

“You have no idea how I am feeling right now, I want to crawl out of this body, I want to scream, to hit something, just…If you were really my friend, you would understand.”

Ichigo knew it was a low blow even before he saw how Ishida flinched at that last part, but he was on the fucking edge for days now and he just couldn’t give up on this idea.

He wouldn’t.

“I get that you are frustrated now, so I am going to let this pass, because I am sure you didn’t really mean that,” Ishida said seriously while pushing his glasses up his nose.

Ichigo felt a flicker of guilt, but not enough to apologize.

Not yet, at last.

“However, I won’t change my mind. And don’t even try to convince the others of your insane plan, because I am going to inform them beforehand,” Ishida stated and Ichigo couldn’t help but gape at him.

Seriously?

“The fuck, Ishida,” Ichigo spat out, feeling betrayed.

Ishida scowled even more, but his voice was firm as he said, “It’s for your own good. Trust me.”

Ichigo’s nostrils flared in annoyance, his jaw clenching tightly.

He hated it, how they treated him as if he was some child in need of protection.

Have they forgotten the things he did not long ago? The people he fought? The people he destroyed?

The anger and feeling of injustice rose in his throat like a bile and he swallowed it down.

The only person who did not treat him like he was made of glass was Grimmjow.

That guy would gladly take his offer and beat him mercilessly, not to help him trigger his powers, but just out of pure satisfaction.

Currently, with none of his friends being an option anymore, maybe he should really go after the arrancar, no matter how dangerous that was.

He looked up, his voice tight as he rigidly answered, “Fine, then. I get it.”

Ishida seemed confused for a moment, but then he cautiously asked, “Do you? We all want what’s best for you.”

Yes, he knew that.

However, what they thought was best for him was far different from the idea he had in his head.

Still, he knew that they would just try to stop him, if he said anything which was why he forced the tension from his shoulders to seep away as he nodded and curtly said, “Yeah. I just need some time alone, you know?”

Ishida seemed to be pondering on that and Ichigo hoped he was convincing enough.

Seconds dragged on forever as he waited for his friend’s response, the anxiety kicking in.

But, before it could start consuming him, Ishida let out a breath of relief and softly said, “Yeah, I get it. I am here for you.”

Ichigo looked at him and this time he allowed himself a small, genuine smile, because he did know that.

“Thanks, Uryu.”

The Quincy smiled at him as well and Ichigo felt a bit better as he got out of his house, wondering how exactly he was going to get to Hueco Mundo, in order to look for the only person who could help him, or alternatively break him to pieces.

………………………………………..

In the end, he didn’t even have to think of a plan to go to Hueco Mundo, because the very next night, Ichigo woke up with a start, having felt the oppressing spiritual energy which was unmistakably Grimmjow’s.

He wasted no time in jumping out of his bed, wearing only his black T-Shirt, loose gray sweatpants and white socks as he ran down the stairs, cursing his lack of powers disabling him from walking on air.

Instead, he ran as fast as he could to the source of the arrancar’s reiatsu.

Thankfully, it was just a few blocks away, but he was still panting by the time he got to the cemetery.

The closer he got, the harder it was to control his breathing, Grimmjow’s freely unleashed spiritual power causing him to stagger the closer he got to the hill where the arrancar was standing and staring into the distance, not even aware of Ichigo’s presence.

That thought alone infuriated Ichigo, because that was just how insignificant he was to the blue-haired man right now that the latter did not even glance at him as he was now standing at the bottom of the hill, looking at Grimmjow.

He clenched his fist and inhaled deeply, before yelling, “Hey, Grimmjow!!”

He got a small sense of satisfaction when he saw how Grimmjow flinched slightly as he turned to look at him, but it was quickly replaced with fury as the blue-haired arrancar just stared at him with no interest, as if he was some insect, not even worthy to pay attention to.

Grimmjow observed him for a few moments, before turning away and continuing to stare into the distance, completely ignoring him.

Ichigo’s mouth fell open, because what the hell??!

He didn’t even realize he was charging towards the asshole, until he was so close that Grimmjow’s reiatsu caused him to gasp as he clutched his chest, his lungs constricting painfully.

He winced, but still found it in himself to growl, “Don’t fuckin’ ignore me, bastard.”

The insult actually got Grimmjow’s attention as the blue-haired man looked at him once again, cocking his head to the side, curiously observing him.

Ichigo struggled to inhale and exhale, the near proximity to the arrancar proving to be too much with the amount of spiritual force he was releasing, but it was the sheer stubbornness that didn’t allow him to move away.

Finally, Grimmjow tsked and flatly said, “Save your breathe, shinigami. Or rather—_human_.”

Ichigo widened his eyes at the last word said in a mocking tone, the arrancar’s eyes glowing with an unspoken challenge, daring him to argue, his lips curled in a displeased frown.

Ichigo hated it.

He couldn’t bear the humiliation at what he was reduced to in front of the person he knew he was equal to, if not stronger.

He was fuming as he made a step forward, snarling, “Fuck you. Fight me, right now. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

The arrancar regarded him cooly, his voice icy as he said, “I wanted a challenge and not some fucking weakling whose knees are trembling just from standing close to me. Anyways, I found something actually worth chasing after, so run along home, before you get hurt.”

The last part was said in a nasty voice, Grimmjow’s sneer enough to enrage Ichigo enough that he had a sudden burst of reiatsu which spurred him forward, his feet moving on their own as he charged at the arrancar with a battle cry.

“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”

His voice was hoarse with how loud he had screamed as he all but threw himself at Grimmjow, only to be met with a deadpanned expression, the arrancar disappearing in a flash.

“Fuck!” Ichigo cursed loudly as he crashed into the ground, hearing something crack beneath him.

The throbbing pain spread through his wrist on which he landed and he just knew it was broken.

“So pitiful, shinigami. Stop embarrassing yourself. It’s painful to watch, even for me.”

Ichigo looked up into those azure blue eyes which were devoid of any emotion, no usual violence or thirst for blood in them which caused Ichigo’s chest to constrict uncomfortably.

Shit, was he really saddened at the fact that the arrancar was not looking at him murderously like he usually did?

Yes, yes he was, because that meant that he was really so weak that even Grimmjow did not want to harm him.

He probably found it beneath him.

“Isn’t that what you want?! For me to get hurt?!” Ichigo lashed out, his emotions in a state of chaos.

If Ichigo did not know any better, he would think that the arrancar actually looked at him with something close to exasperation.

“Yeah, but not like this. I suggest you fuck off, before some low-level Hollow gets a hold of you. It sure as hell would be pathetic for someone I once considered a worthy opponent to be taken down in such a shameful way,” Grimmjow stated in a dissatisfied voice.

_A once worthy opponent?_

Grimmjow’s words echoed in his mind as he looked down, staring at his wrist which was already swollen.

A sense of loss erupted in his chest, so intense that it actually made him feel as if he got punched in his sternum.

Was this it?

After taking down Aizen, this was what he was reduced to?

A weakling who was not even able to withstand an arrancar’s spiritual force and actually told to get out of the way by one of the most violent individuals he had ever met?

His thoughts became dull as he stared at the ground feeling empty.

His eyes prickled and he barked out a dry laugh, thinking how fucking rich it would be if he started crying right now, in front of the arrancar, as if this whole situation wasn’t humiliating enough.

He was just about to furiously rub his healthy palm over his eyes to at least keep that last ounce of dignity when something cold slid under his chin.

Soon enough, he was faced with those narrowed cerulean eyes, the calculated look in them causing him to shiver, the cold fingers gripping his chin steadily making his breath hitch for a moment.

“Oi, snap out of it. Did you hit your head as well, shithead?”

Grimmjow’s voice was low and displeased, but there was something else underneath it as well.

It wasn’t concern per se, but something aking to it.

It was enough to make Ichigo blink in a startled way at the arrancar’s unexpected behavior.

His reaction only caused Grimmjow’s frown to deepen, his mouth turned downwards as his eyes still roamed his face, causing the tips of Ichigo’s ears to get hotter.

Shit.

“You—“

Grimmjow started, but whatever he was going to say was lost in the piercing inhuman scream that followed.

Ichigo flinched, his human ears almost bleeding at the sound, but Grimmjow’s fingers on his chin held him in place.

However, the arrancar closed his eyes and sniffed the air, as if he was some kind of a cat, no—a _panther._

When he opened his eyes, they were blazing with hunger and need to hunt that Ichigo felt a thrill of excitement at the familiar gaze as Grimmjow’s wild grin made an appearance, only to feel his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach when Grimmjow let go of his chin and got up, ready to go after whatever it was that was now displaying a great spiritual pressure close by.

Before he left, Grimmjow actually turned to him, his voice stern.

“Go home, Kurosaki.”

Then, amusement flashed in his eyes as he wore a shit-eating grin while adding, “Things are about to get nasty real soon and I wouldn’t want your pretty little head getting bashed for no reason.”

And then he was gone.

Ichigo stared after him, his eyes wide, heart stammering in his chest.

Did Grimmjow just call him pretty?

An unknown sensation swooped in his stomach, his face getting warmer in the cool, night air.

**What. The. Fuck??**


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly getting somewhere...

Ichigo pushed the whole thing with Grimmjow to the back of his mind.

That night, he had been too stunned by Grimmjow’s casual comment in which he called him pretty, but after he thought about it more, he realized that the arrancar had just said that as a sort of a mockery.

It was something that was clearly meant to make him feel inferior in every way possible, a poor, weak human being told by an arrancar to run along home, so that the big, bad hollows would not harm him.

Fucking asshole.

No matter how much he tried to forget about that, he couldn’t completely erase it from his mind, the very thought of that night causing his chest to burn with the need to show Grimmjow just how wrong he is.

However, his condition was still the same which was why he had no way of challenging the arrancar.

The image of Grimmjow’s blue eyes—eager and excited, his grin dark and predatory as he set off after something powerful enough for him to chase after unlike Ichigo, was carved into his mind, while he was left kneeling on that hill as if he was some burden, a mosquito which was annoying, but not even worthy enough to be swatted away by the arrancar.

It took him a good couple of minutes that night to pick himself up, his energy at a low level since he previously used a good amount of his reiatsu which did nothing, but increase his humiliation in front of the arrancar.

Once he dragged himself home, he went to their clinic to inspect his wounds.

He mostly had shallow cuts and bruises from the way he landed on the hill and his wrist hadn’t been broken as he had initially thought, but it was still healing much slower than it would have, had he got hurt in his shinigami body.

After that shameful encounter with the arrancar in front of whom he completely embarrassed himself, he sort of fell in a weird state of depression.

He had been mopping for a few days around the house and in school, so much that even his friends noticed it and kept trying to distract him from the fact that his powers still weren’t returning.

They even told him to go to Urahara again, but like hell he was.

It was that thought alone, of the blonde shopkeeper smirking at him mysteriously as he usually did, as well as Grimmjow’s condescending words and his superior stare that night that finally snapped him out of the pitiful state he was in.

His newfound resolve was what forced him to get out of bed when he sensed a weak reiatsu from some hollow burning particularly near his house.

To hell with them all, he was not going to give up so easily.

He grabbed his black jacket, pulling the collar up to protect him from the chilly breeze which hit him the moment he jumped out of his window, causing him to shiver.

Nevertheless, he ran fast, the sound of his sneakers scraping against the pavement disrupting the otherwise quiet night.

The sky was almost devoid of stars, the full moon being the only one illuminating it while casting an eerie glow on the road in front of him.

Something twisted inside his gut, but he ignored it, determined to go through with what he thought was the only way to get his powers back.

If even Grimmjow was not going to fight him then there sure as hell were others who would.

Right as he thought that, he heard a garbled sound coming from somewhere above him.

He looked up quickly, only being able to catch a glimpse of the hollow’s mask as it moved on the flat rooftop of the 3-storey building he was standing next to.

Ichigo wasted no time as he ran into the building, climbing up the stairs quickly, to get to his ‘opponent’.

Once he got to the top, he pushed the metal door leading to the rooftop and found himself in the cold, quiet expanse.

His breathing and heart rate had quickened from the fast pace, but he didn’t let that deter him as he looked around, trying to locate the hollow.

It didn’t take him long to sense the weak reiatsu, his feet moving on their own accord until he got to the other side of the roof.

The sight in front of him stopped him in his tracks, causing him to curse under his breath.

The hollow was twice as large as him, his back covered in some disgusting purple substance that even dripped from the top of his hole while his tail swished back and forth, completely covered in scales.

The creature still hadn’t noticed him, too busy approaching the soul of the small trembling girl.

They were already near the edge of the roof, the hollow letting out some disturbing sounds while the girl cowered in fear.

Ichigo clenched his fist, fully aware he had only a few seconds to react.

He had initially went after the hollow, wanting to have a sparring match with him, hoping it would trigger his shinigami powers, but he knew now that he had to try and kill him, in order to save the innocent soul of the child.

His eyes searched the surroundings for any sort of weapon until his gaze landed on a long metal bar lying a few feet away from where he was standing.

It’ll have to do, he thought as he quickly grabbed it and charged towards the hollow, shouting, “Hey, ugly dipshit!!!”

He knew that his only chance was the element of surprise and when the thing turned to him slowly, Ichigo jumped as high as he could, aiming for the white mask covered in some strange symbols.

He was aware that he would probably not be lucky enough to split the mask in two and destroy the hollow in his first attempt, but what he did not expect was to be slapped away by that large, humanoid palm, as if he was some pesky bug.

“Shit!” He cursed as his body flew to the side until it crashed into a wall.

His breath whooshed in a painful gasp, the metal bar falling to the ground and rolling away.

He sensed the creature, before he heard the inhuman noises it was producing, quickly throwing himself away from the palm which tried to crush him.

He rolled away, and immediately got up, ignoring the flaring ache in his back, because he knew that the hollow was not finished with him.

However, despite its previous slowness, suddenly the thing moved much faster, managing to land another hit on him, the only thing preventing his face from getting rearranged being his fast reflexes, his hand coming up to protect him from the blow.

It still hurt and when he landed on the hard ground, his head throbbed.

Ichigo let out a groan, his fingers instantly reaching to his forehead and immediately coming into contact with red liquid, confirming that he did indeed hit his head.

He tried to get up, but his vision swam in an instant which meant he probably had a concussion.

Great, just what he needed.

He shook his head, trying to disperse the sudden dizziness when a movement to his left caught his eye.

He saw the girl using the hollow’s distraction to run across the sky which was unfortunately something the creature noticed as well as he let out something similar to a growl, dashing after her in an instant and disregarding Ichigo.

The girl froze halfway, her eyes large and round as she stared at the monster approaching her.

She was not going to get a chance to go to Soul Society, Ichigo thought with horror.

That small child, so scared and helpless, was going to get devoured right before his eyes, because he was too fucking weak to protect her.

Something burned in his chest, unpleasant and strong and just no.

Before he knew it, he was running towards the hollow, adrenaline coursing through his body, momentarily dispersing any pain or discomfort and then he was leaping over the edge and…He was alive.

It took him a moment to realize it, but he made it.

He was using his reishi to walk on air, not even aware that he could control it in his human form.

However, he could sense that it was taking a toll on him as he was using a great amount of spiritual force in his human form just to achieve this, so he knew that he had to end it quickly.

That was why, he almost flew through the air with how fast he was rushing towards the hollow, who was now turned to him, waiting for his attack.

Ichigo had no weapon by his side which was why he screamed loudly when he figured that he was close enough to the hollow to launch his finishing blow.

“TAKE THAT, YOU DISGUSTING BASTARD!!!”

His voice got hoarse at the end, but he didn’t care, the power surging through him as he released a high level of reiatsu which caused the creature in front of him to screech as it started wildly flailing its limbs.

Just a bit more, Ichigo thought as he spotted the little girl running away and then focused again on the hollow, giving it his all to distract him long enough for the plus to escape.

Finally, he couldn’t see her anymore which was at about the same time he reached his limit, the blue light around him disappearing, leaving him completely drained and fatigued.

Okay, now if only he could tell his feet to move, he thought, a spike of fear seeping into his bones as the creature seemed to grow in size, now looming over him.

Ichigo looked up, wondering if he was really going to have his life end like this, the large palm reaching towards him as he stood frozen in his spot.

He squeezed his eyes shut at the last moment, images of his sisters, father and friends flashing in his mind, and he thought to himself just how stupid he was to do something as reckless as this.

But then he remembered the little girl and realized he did not regret it.

At least he was going to die knowing that he saved her soul and that was rewarding enough.

“That’s real fuckin’ pathetic, Kurosaki. Not even fighting back. Che, pisses me off.”

Ichigo’s eyes flew wide open at the familiar, low voice right behind him, the body of the arrancar so close to his that he could feel the heat of it at his back.

He gulped as he watched the hollow’s mask crack in two, the movement having come from behind him—quick and precise, as the mask split, the creature disappearing on the spot.

Ichigo’s heart slammed in his chest, the shock of everything that had just happened catching up to him.

“Seein how y’re walkin’ on air, I thought you were back to your usual self, but then again ya were ‘bout to let a simple hollow end ya, so I guess not. How disappointing,” the voice behind him stated with displeasure, so hot against his ear that Ichigo barely suppressed the urge to shudder.

He turned around slowly, coming face to face with the arrancar, who stood closer to him than he even realized, his expression bored, but eyes narrowed, glancing at his wound, before flicking back to glare at him as if saying, ‘Look at what you are reduced to, weak loser.’

Ichigo swallowed hard, fully aware of how lame he was to allow a hollow to maul him like this and almost kill him, but what truly drove him crazy was the fact that he actually had to be saved by Grimmjow.

If it was anyone else then he wouldn’t have felt this burning sense of shame which made him want to bury his head in the ground.

Instead, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

“Why?”

That seemed to have caught Grimmjow off guard as the arrancar frowned, a few strands of his electric blue hair falling into his eyes as he tilted his head to the side, his voice gruff as he asked, “Why what?”

Ichigo knew it was stupid to ask and that he should get the hell away from the arrancar, especially since he was still using his spiritual force to keep himself up, but he knew that he had reached his limit when he felt his knees weakening.

Still, he was too spiteful to back down now which was why he straightened up, his expression grim as he spat, “Why did you save me when I am not a worthy opponent anymore. You should’ve let it kill me, since I am so weak that I can’t even kill a simple hollow.”

His explanation caused Grimmjow’s scowl to deepen, the arrancar pursing his mouth in a dissatisfied line.

“Stop spouting bullshit. I sure as hell wouldn’t save your sorry ass,” Grimmjow bit out, his voice harsh and unrelenting, his eyes narrowed.

Ichigo felt the arrancar’s reiatsu increasing and he wanted to tell him to stop, but his legs gave out, before he could do so and he found himself falling through the air.

Or, he would have, if a strong arm hadn’t circled around his waist, pulling him up until he was pressed against the arrancar, far too close for comfort.

He blinked away the haziness as he found himself staring in those expressive blue eyes which now screamed murder.

Still, Ichigo couldn’t seem to shut up as he said, “There you go again. I am useless to you, so why do you keep doing this?”

The question seemed to throw Grimmjow off for a moment, but then he collected himself, his usual cold façade back in place.

“Maybe I want something else from you, shinigami,” Grimmjow leered at him, his blue eyes boring into him and twinkling with amusement and something else which Ichigo had not time to pinpoint as his heart started knocking against his chest so loudly that he was afraid Grimmjow would hear as well, considering how pressed against each other they were.

“What else could you possibly want from me other than killing me?” Ichigo blurted out, because that was the simple truth.

All Grimmjow ever talked about were colourful, violent ways of how he was going to end his life, but now that he was of no use to him as a rival, what could the arrancar possible want from him?

Apparently, Grimmjow hadn’t considered that either, because he actually seemed startled by the question, his cerulean eyes widening a fraction, an uncertain look flashing in them.

Ichigo’s mouth fell open at that unexpected reaction, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest when Grimmjow actually glanced at his lips for a millisecond.

However, he didn’t even have time to think about what it meant, because the arrancar seemed very displeased by him, his glare murderous now as he sank his fingers into his back, causing Ichigo to yelp.

“Fuckin’ nosy shinigami. Tch, why even bother,” Grimmjow muttered darkly, his gaze icy.

And just like that, he was harshly thrown to the rooftop again, landing on his back, the air getting knocked out of his lungs.

“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath as he felt every bone in his body aching and he knew that he couldn’t move.

Not yet, at least, his eyes closing on their own accord.

The last thing he saw was the arrancar coming to stand next to his hip, looking down at him with a mix of disgust, anger and…Confusion?

“I should have fuckin’ let that weakling end you,” Ichigo heard Grimmjow spit out.

He wanted to ask why hadn’t he, but he was already drifting away, his mind succumbing to the pleasant darkness.

Still, the last thing he heard was a frustrated, “So, why the hell didn’t I?”


	4. Chapter 4

When Ichigo regained consciousness, he didn’t even have time to think how much everything hurt, because a detached, slightly coarse voice to his left caught his attention.

“Finally awake, are ya? Took ya long enough.”

Ichigo craned his neck with much effort to get a better look at the arrancar, who was casually sitting at the edge of the roof, his long legs spread wide apart, his elbows propped on his knees, chin resting on his clasped hands as those piercing blue eyes narrowed at him with such intensity which caused Ichigo to gulp.

He couldn’t understand why Grimmjow even stayed there on the rooftop with him, but he wasn’t sure that he wanted to find out, not with the way that calculative gaze swept over him a few times, those sharp eyes glinting in the dark, focused on him far too long for Ichigo’s comfort.

He particularly disliked the vulnerable state he was currently in which was why he somehow managed to sit up, with a lot of cursing under his breath, his back screaming at him, probably bruised purple with the way the arrancar had thrown him to the roof.

Bastard.

Ichigo glared at Grimmjow, who blinked for a moment, as if surprised by that reaction, but then his lips stretched into that wicked grin which always made Ichigo break in a cold sweat, because he never knew what insane thought was going through that head.

“Nobody asked you to stay,” Ichigo accused, frowning at how raw his voice was.

It was only then that he realized how thirsty he really was.

Still, he needed to deal with one unstable arrancar first.

Grimmjow barked a laugh as if what he said was extremely amusing and then jumped to his feet, shoving his hands in his pockets as he started sauntering towards him, like a lazy cat.

Ichigo felt wary, his shoulders tensing as he watched the arrancar’s every move.

Grimmjow walked in a relaxed manner, his grin easy, as if he had all the time in this world and it was that posture and attitude that gave Ichigo the chills, because he knew just how temperamental the man walking towards him really was.

However, he would rather be beaten to a bloody pulp than show a trace of fear which was why he didn’t even bother getting up, a permanent scowl on his face as he challengingly glared at the arrancar who was now looming over him.

Grimmjow was looking down at him, both literately and figuratively, smirking as he took in his probably more than pitiful state, but Ichigo tried to not let it show how much that pissed him off as he clenched his fist behind his back.

The arrancar snorted, blue locks being swept to the side by the night breeze, the moonlight illuminating his sharp features and causing his icy blue eyes to shine even more, the sudden determination in them increasing Ichigo’s initial apprehension.

“Nobody gotta ask me anything. I do what I fucking please,” Grimmjow responded to Ichigo’s previous accusation, his voice harsh, yet amusement danced in his eyes.

Ichigo’s eyebrows furrowed even more, his irritation growing that he had to look up just to stare into those smug, condescending eyes.

“I thought that you wanted me gone and yet this is the second time you spared my life. Why is that?” Ichigo challenged, his voice serious.

He saw that that question had greatly displeased Grimmjow, but nevertheless the arrancar rolled his eyes and answered calmly, “Che. Again you with those idiotic statements. Get it into yer thick-skull, shinigami.”

Before he continued, Grimmjow crouched in front of him, grabbed the front of his shirt and brought their faces so close that Ichigo could feel the arrancar’s hot breath fawning over his lips as he spoke.

It made him extremely uncomfortable and he desperately wanted to put some distance between them, but he couldn’t show weakness in front of the already superior bastard, so he just clenched his jaw and stared hard into those eyes which were now blazing with anger.

“I ain’t fuckin’ interested in saving your life, just ending it,” Grimmjow snarled and it sounded so sincere and raw that Ichigo believed him. Almost.

“Fine, then. What is it that you want from me when you said it yourself that I am not a worthy opponent anymore?”

The words tasted bad even as he said them, but that was what Grimmjow had told him with so much conviction that Ichigo could not understand why the arrancar hadn’t just let that hollow end his life.

He knew that it was beneath Grimmjow to do it himself with how powerless Ichigo currently was, but there was no reason not to let someone else end him when he has lost his use in the arrancar’s eyes.

Something throbbed painfully in Ichigo’s chest at that thought, but he squashed it down quickly, too busy keeping his composure in front of the arrancar who was still all up in his face, his long fingers clenching around the fabric of his shirt.

“Stop being such a lil bitch, Kurosaki,” Grimmjow said in a dismissive voice and Ichigo was about to retort, feeling insulted, but he was never given a chance as the arrancar cut him off, his voice cold.

“Besides, that was before I saw that you are not just a useless sack of shit. If a weakling hollow caused you to use reishi and walk on air, then I sure as hell can pull out that shinigami out of your pathetic human body and get the fight that I was promised.”

Grimmjow’s eyes shone with malice and bloodthirst, his grin wide and benevolent, causing goosebumps to break across Ichigo’s body, especially since he was so close to the arrancar in this moment that he could see the extent of glee Grimmjow felt at the thought of being the one to pummel him into the ground once and for all.

He wasn’t sure if he should be worried about that, or about the fact that he was actually disappointed that Grimmjow still wanted to end his life.

After all, why was it that he hoped that the arrancar had changed his opinion and not just because he didn’t like the prospect of one mad arrancar being out for his life, but because it was _Grimmjow _of all people…

His heart skipped in his chest, his eyes widening in horror at the thought that suddenly flashed in his mind, but before he could ponder on it, the impatient arrancar in front of him harshly pulled him up to his feet.

“Ow, you fucker,” Ichigo cursed, as he sucked in a sharp breath at being manhandled like that, his human body still bruised and aching.

“Enough of the chit-chat, Kurosaki. We’re going to Hueco Muendo to train until you get your shinigami form back, even if all your bones break,” Grimmjow stated, his voice leaving no room for argument.

That honestly freaked Ichigo out, because he knew that the arrancar was dead serious.

He should have been ecstatic, because that was what he had wanted, in order to regain his powers, but now he realized that he couldn’t disappear just like that.

When Grimmjow opened a garganta and grabbed his wrist in a death grip, ready to pull him in, Ichigo blanched and may have let an unmanly shriek.

Yeah, he definitely did, because Grimmjow was now looking at him skeptically and even judgmentally.

Ichigo ignored the flush spreading across his face as he cleared his throat.

“I can’t go just like that. I need to make some preparations, “ he insisted, trying to make his voice deep.

Grimmjow looked at him quizzically, his grip still unrelenting which was sure to leave a nasty bruise there, Ichigo though fleetingly.

“What the fuck are ya babbling about?” Grimmjow bit, his patience wearing thin.

“Don’t tell me you are chickening out on me?” Grimmjow’s eyes were steely, his voice abrasive, the hold on his wrist causing Ichigo to wince.

“Of course not!” Ichigo snapped, trying to pull his arm away, before the asshole broke his wrist, but no use.

“It’s just that I am still a human and you dragging me to a freaking desert without any water, or food, is going to kill me faster than you!” Ichigo yelled desperately, because he the grip was becoming unbearable.

Grimmjow was still hesitating, his eyes narrowed and suspicious, but he finally loosened his hold and Ichigo sighed in relief as he snatched his hand back and started rubbing the tender spot that was already dark red.

“Besides, I have to come up with a lie as to why I would be away for a while unless you want a shinigami army barging into Hueco Mundo and kicking your ass,” Ichigo added.

Grimmjow bristled at that and roared, “Ha! I’d like to see them try!”

Ichigo just rolled his eyes and refrained himself from commenting what a dumbass he was, because he was sure that the arrancar wouldn’t take it kindly.

“Anyways,” Ichigo said, returning back to the topic at hand, “I have a school-break coming up and my family is going on a vacation, so I can use that as an excuse. How about we meet here in 5 days?”

Grimmjow’s expression was pinched and conflicted, his eyes full of annoyance as he crossed his arms over his chest and just stared at him.

Ichigo tried his best not to squirm under the arrancar’s scrutinizing gaze, but he was in dire need of a shower and medical help, probably, which was why he lost his temper and yelled, “Come on! You know that I am not going to back down on my word, douchebag!”

Grimmjow gritted his teeth at the insult, gave him another once-over and then bit out, “Che, fine. But, if ya try and ditch, I am gonna come for you and slice your throat with Pantera, nice and slow while laughing at your corpse. You got that?”

The image was disturbing and Ichigo would have probably shivered, if he hadn’t been barely standing on his feet and just wishing to get to his bed already which was why he dismissively waved his hand and answered flatly, “Yeah, yeah, see ya in five days, asshole.”

He heard the indignant snarl behind him as he turned around and started walking away, but he had no strength left to care about Grimmjow’s butthurt pride.

After all, he had to heal his damaged body, pack everything that he needed for his little trip to Hueco Mundo and also, he had to make sure nobody figured out what he was planning to do, because he was pretty sure that no one would approve of his suicidal mission.

Still, he was kind of excited about the fact that Grimmjow decided to give him a chance, although he dreaded the outcome.

One step at a time, he thought as he dragged his sore body towards his house.

………………………………………..

“You’re _late._”

The incensed statement welcomed Ichigo as he got to the rooftop where he had been lying covered in blood and bruises (which still haven’t healed) five nights ago.

He opened his mouth to make a retort, but before he could do so, the arrancar pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against and appeared in front of him in a flash, causing Ichigo’s eyes to widen a bit as he took a step back.

Grimmjow paid him no mind, not even looking at him, but rather glowering at the suitcase behind him.

“What’cha got there? A full arsenal of weapons?” The arrancar’s tone held interest as he kept trying to look behind Ichigo as if he had x-ray vision and could see the contents of his suitcase.

Ichigo scowled in confusion and clutched the handle tighter as he answered, “No. Just water, food ,clothes and my shinigami badge.”

Grimmjow looked at him then, his eyes now dull as he apathetically said, “How boring.”

Ichigo wanted to argue, feeling himself getting worked up, but the asshole just turned his back and started walking away from him.

The nerve.

Without any further questions, Grimmjow opened a garganta and walked right in, without even glancing back.

Ichigo stood in disbelief for a few moments, because was that it?

The bastard hadn’t even asked him, if everything went smoothly with his family and friends, who he had lied to, successfully, but still.

While he was getting annoyed at the arrancar, the said jerk apparently felt the same way as he marched out of the Garganta, wearing a deep scowl and without a word he grabbed his suitcase and kicked him hard in the back, causing Ichigo to lose his balance and stumble into the black hole.

“Ow, the fuck you…!” the rest of his curses were swallowed by darkness and Grimmjow’s sadistic laugh somewhere behind him.

Maybe he hadn’t thought this through, Ichigo thought for the first time, a hint of panic creeping into his chest.

………………………………………..

God, the shinigami brat was such high maintenance, Grimmjow thought while clenching his jaw, for the nth time since he practically kicked the ginger to Hueco Muendo.

Not only was Kurosaki extremely slow while in his pitiful human form, but now he didn’t even want to start fighting immediately, much to Grimmjow’s utter dismay, until he was showed where he would be sleeping and where he could place his shitty luggage full of useless, human stuff.

What a fuckin’ princess, Grimmjow grumbled under his breath as he marched across the fine sand while kicking Kurosaki’s ‘precious’ suitcase.

Naturally, the brat wasn’t really fond of his manner of dealing with his junk, screaming his ear off while panting and running after him until he managed to grab his belongings, clutching them protectively to his chest, those cinnamon eyes glaring at him.

What-fuckin-ever.

This was all such a drag for him and his need to spill some blood, preferably the brat’s, grew even more with each passing second.

But, apparently, he couldn’t do that just yet and truth to be told, since there was a chance for Kurosaki to get his powers back and give him the fight that he craved for so long, Grimmjow would have to suck it up and actually try not to strangle the irritating shinigami.

A challenge of a lifetime would that be, he thought as he threw daggers at the back of that orange head.

The lil dipshit was walking in front of him, as if he knew where he was going.

What an idiot!

After a while, though, Grimmjow realized that the shithead was actually heading in the right direction and then it occurred to him that the asshole had been in Las Noches before.

It made his blood boil when he remembered it all, their time under that sick-bastard Aizen and worst of all getting saved by this shinigami-trash from that asshole Nnoitra.

The same orange-haired piece of shit, who was now reduced to this, tripping over his feet over thin air.

What a fucking joke!

The sudden rage surged through him at the injustice of it all which was why, without thinking it through, he slammed his shoulder into the brat’s causing him to fall to his knees.

And what a pretty sight that was, Grimmjow thought as he leered at Kurosaki who was now on his knees in front of him, his eyes dark and angry, face red with fury, his chest rising and falling quickly as he yelled, “What the fuck, asshole!”

The kid was always so easy to taunt, jumping to each one of his insults and losing his temper in a matter of seconds, always yelling and charging towards him, causing Grimmjow’s blood to run faster in anticipation and now, like this, on his knees, looking like that, his wild orange hair sticking out in every direction, sweat above his brow and cupid’s bow, those lips so red and so inviting as he—

The fuck did that come from, Grimmjow wondered, shocked at where his train of thoughts lead him.

Now that he took a better look at the kid, the way his white t-shirt outlined his lean body and rose above his jeans, revealing a sliver of skin above the waistband, all flushed and sweaty, eyes so defiant, it sure looked inviting.

Shit.

Grimmjow shook his head, grinned evilly at the shinigami, who had finally gotten up and was dusting the sand from his knees, and shrugged his shoulders.

“Because, I can. Whatcha gonna do about it?”

He knew that it was a cruel thing to say when the brat couldn’t even fight back properly which was exactly why he said it, enjoying the way those almost golden eyes narrowed at him, focused only on him, so alive and intent, almost hypnotizing in their need to harm and—

“Fuck, you lil shit!” Grimmjow cursed loudly, because apparently he had been too distracted with Kurosaki’s eyes to notice the shithead’s fist until it connected with his face.

But damn, the kid had so much strength even in that form.

Even more than that time he hit him when Grimmjow deposited him in Hueco Mundo during their first encounter in a world without Aizen.

Grimmjow wiped his blood from his nose, smirking at Kurosaki, who was flexing his fingers, his breathing rapid, his shoulders tense, expression determined to fight.

That’s it, Grimmjow thought.

This was the Kurosaki that caused his stomach to churn with the need to mark that soft skin of his with all sorts of scars, the one that made him feel as if there was something worth living for other than the sheer need to survive, the one that gave him the reason to constantly improve himself just to be ready when the day comes for their swords to clash again.

That was why, he was not going to give up on this kid until his powers were back and they were fighting again, the right way.

He must have been grinning like a madman, because the ginger was now looking at him with confusion and slight apprehension and Grimmjow couldn’t have that which was why he barked out a laugh and yelled, “That’s more like it, Kurosaki! Keep it up and you’ll get yer powers back in no time!”

When he saw how the brat’s face actually lit at that, he felt proud, but also slightly weird and nauseous.

He wasn’t sure why, so he disregarded those strange sensations and growled, “Now, hurry the fuck up! I can’t wait to tear you apart!”

Naturally, the ginger just rolled his eyes at him and picked up the pace while swearing at him under his breath.

Grimmjow’s smile just grew.

He had the shinigami all to himself and nothing was going to get in their way now.

His smile darkened as he watched Kurosaki’s lean form from behind, thinking how the ginger has no idea what he signed up for.

Well, he was going to find out soon enough, Grimmjow thought with much pleasure.

………………………………………..

Shit.

Grimmjow really was out for his blood.

Nothing surprising there, but dammt, couldn’t he give him a break already, Ichigo groaned as he picked himself up and stood on shaky legs.

“Too fuckin’ slow,” a sinister voice behind him whispered and Ichigo only had time to widen his eyes, before he found himself flying through the air and landing in one of the dunes.

He was pretty sure that there were already a few permanently indented shapes of his body, along with some blood, in a couple of dunes, from being thrown around so many times.

Ever since he settled in some room which only had a bed, two lanterns and some small table, Grimmjow had practically dragged him out to the desert and has been mercilessly treating his body like a punching bag.

Ichigo wasn’t even sure how he survived these three days, because the only time he had to himself was at night, when he could barely stand and Grimmjow would grudgingly let him drag his broken body to that room and sleep until dawn when the blue-haired asshole would practically come banging on his door until he got up and then they would start all over again.

He even stopped counting the bruises and cuts on his body after that first night here.

He wouldn’t even mind all of this rough treatment, if there had been any success.

So far, the only thing he managed to do was control his reishi, so that he could walk on air whenever he wanted and he even managed to flash-step a couple of times, but it caused a huge strain on his body.

So much that even Grimmjow spared him whenever he crumpled to the sand after releasing so much spiritual force that he would practically lie on his back, trying to regain his breath while the arrancar kept kicking sand at him just to piss him off further and throwing sarcastic remarks.

While he had been thrilled at first when he managed to control his reishi, his excitement soon died down.

Even Grimmjow had been grinning like an idiot at that time, anticipation obvious in those crystal blue eyes, but Ichigo’s hope of regaining his powers was quickly shattered when he realized that he could not keep up long in his human body while using so much spiritual pressure.

Also, whenever he brought the badge to his chest, nothing happened.

Not even a flicker of his shinigami form which always left him frustrated beyond words.

In addition, he wasn’t the only one aggravated by his slow, almost non-existent progress.

He noticed that the more time passed, Grimmjow was losing the hold on his patience and his attacks had become more violent, each one leaving Ichigo gasping painfully for air.

Just like now when he couldn’t even gather enough strength to pick himself up.

“Get the fuck up, I barely used any force,” came the condescending voice from above him which caused Ichigo to squeeze his eyes shut and grit his teeth.

“Oi, are ya sleepin’ already?”

Grimmjow asked, his voice rough and disbelieving as he started kicking his side, not too hard, but Ichigo was already sporting a massive bruise there from the day before that he couldn’t stop his eyes from opening in fury as he glared at the arrancar standing above him.

Ichigo grabbed his ankle to stop him from upsetting his painful side, his voice abrasive as he said, “Cut that out, bastard.”

Grimmjow actually listened to him and stopped, but now he was frowning as if Ichigo was the mad one here and asked, “What crawled up yer ass this mornin’?”

And that was kind of the breaking point for Ichigo as he used all his strength to pull the arrancar’s ankle, causing him to lose balance and fall backwards.

“Fuck you!” Ichigo yelled, finding some small satisfaction in the muffled curse he heard when Grimmjow’s body hit the ground.

Naturally, the victory was short lived as the bastard was immediately on him, straddling his hips, his fingers curling around Ichigo’s throat, pressing with just enough force to cause him to cough as he fought for air.

Grimmjow’s expression was pure rage, steel blue eyes blazing as the arrancar growled, “The fuck was that for, you lil shit?!”

Despite trying to push Grimmjow off by hitting his chest with no effort and kicking his legs underneath him, Ichigo was not going to give him the satisfaction of thinking he had the upper hand.

So, he matched the arrancar’s murderous gaze with his own, snarling, “You know what that was for, you fucker! I am not some punching bag for you to relieve your frustrations, jerk! Since you are so obviously displeased with me why don’t you do us both a favour and find someone worth fighting against and maybe I’ll do the same!”

By the time he said all of that, he was fighting for air, not just because Grimmjow’s fingers around his throat still prevented him from inhaling and exhaling properly, but also because he was so riled up and angry that his heart hammered in his chest, his breathing erratic.

He saw how Grimmjow’s eyes widened for a moment, before his expression became menacing as the arrancar leaned in, their noses touching.

“Ya know what, Kurosaki? Yer finally making some sense. I do need to fight someone who isn’t as fragile as you. Someone powerful enough to take my hits and not bitch about it every second. I just think there’s nothin’ for ya here, since everyone in Hueco Mundo, even the lowest of Hollows are stronger than ya.”

Those glacial blue eyes drilled into him, the fingers around his throat hot and pressing deeper, the sadistic smile on those lips not quite right, different from Grimmjow’s usual manic grins, as if this one was forced, just there to get a rise out of him.

Well, like hell was he going to give the bastard the satisfaction of begging him to stay and not fight anyone else.

His expression was full of resolve, eyes cold and voice impassive as he simply said, “Do whatever you want, Grimmjow. See, if I care.”

It was obvious that the arrancar hadn’t expected that, as his lips pulled back, teeth bared in a dissatisfied snarl, eyebrows pinched together, storm brewing in those sky blue eyes slicing into him.

Grimmjow actually tightened his grip on his throat and Ichigo was sure that this was finally the day the arrancar would fulfill his threat of ending his life.

“Ugh,” Ichigo half-moaned in pain, the air not reaching his brain as he squeezed his eyes shut and arched his back, trying to cling to his life.

He didn’t see Grimmjow’s expression, but he heard the sharp intake of breath above him and then he was free.

His eyes fluttered open, his mind swimming with the lack of oxygen as he slowly brought his fingers to the sore spot on his throat where Grimmjow’s fingers had been.

He saw Grimmjow’s blurry form as the man disappeared into a Garganta without a word, leaving him there in the vast desert, all alone.

Ichigo threw his arm over his eyes, laying there and feeling empty.

“Shit,” he cursed softly under his breath, wondering why was it that he was so upset that Grimmjow actually took his advice and left.

Whatever he said and felt, he didn’t actually want for Grimmjow to fight someone else.

He liked having those crystal blue eyes following his every movement, assessing his moves and getting caught up in their almost deadly dance, despite the fact he was only in his human form.

He enjoyed being the focus of Grimmjow’s attention, he loved the thrill of the fight, the way the arrancar did not treat him like something breakable just because he didn’t have his shinigami powers.

Call him a masochist, but there was something about Grimmjow pinning him in the sand, the weight on his body painful, but not unwelcome, the way his hot breath fawned over his face as Grimmjow whispered all the ways in which he would spill his blood, those sharp eyes boring into him, as if seeing who Ichigo really was—not just some shinigami protecting the innocent ones, but also a _warrior._

Ichigo shivered just at the memory, wondering what was wrong with him that he was actually saddened at the fact that he drove Grimmjow away to find someone else to fight against.

And what was this ugly feeling forming in his gut at the thought of the arrancar looking at anyone else like that?

Ichigo’s eyes flew open in shock at the realization that he was actually…Jealous?

Fuck.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a bit of extra time, so I managed to finish this chapter-yas! Thank you for the supportive comments, I love kudos as well, but your comments always get me writing even more. ;)

After Grimmjow had practically stormed off to God knows where, Ichigo took his time to make his way to the room assigned to him by the temperamental arrancar.

He barely had strength or will to do anything once he got there, being absolutely physically and mentally drained, but he knew that he had to take care of himself better, considering how breakable his human body was.

After he had cleaned his wounds, he barely had the appetite to eat something, but forced himself to do so, because he needed his strength.

Thankfully, he brought enough supplies in his suitcase to last him for more than a week.

He changed out of his bloody clothes into a pair of loose, black sweatpants and a clean white t-shirt, before going to lie down on the uncomfortable bed which only had some thin blanket and a small pillow.

He desperately wanted to sleep, but as he lied there on the bed, in that dingy room, he kept his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling.

Grimmjow had told him on the first day that nobody would dare attack him as long as he didn’t leave the palace, or rather this was where the chambers of previous Espadas were and no hollow dared come here, since they knew that Grimmjow was the king now.

However, Grimmjow had been gone for surely a couple of hours now and he wasn’t convinced that no hollow would come in here, particularly if they sense a human’s spiritual pressure.

So, he couldn’t allow himself to relax.

He knew that he had to stay awake, but he was so worn out that he caught himself dozing off a few times.

He guessed that it wouldn’t be too bad, if he got some shut-eye.

Just for a couple of minutes, he told himself as he was already drifting into the world of dreams.

………………………………………..

Ichigo woke up to the sound of something, hating how he let himself sleep for longer than he intended to, the moonlight already breaking through the small window, basking the room in an eerie glow.

His heart started thundering when he realized where the noise that woke him up came from as he spotted a hollow at the doorframe, watching him through a heart-shaped mask, one side of it crimson red and the other neon green.

“Shit!” he cursed as he jumped out of the bed, but the sudden movement alarmed the creature who immediately lunged at him.

He was still a little sluggish from his involuntary nap that he didn’t manage to dodge in time as the creature that was at least one head taller than him managed to punch him in the gut, sending his body to the cold, hard floor.

“Ah, fuck,” Ichigo cursed as he gasped for air, rolling away from the hollow that was now watching him, Ichigo would say even curiously, but he knew that there was nothing intelligent behind those inhuman, yellow eyes.

Nevertheless, he used the hollow’s stillness to his advantage as he quickly moved out of its way, grabbing a dagger from his bag next to the table which he snatched from Urahara’s collection of weird objects when the shopkeeper was too busy making sly comments with Yourichi about her cat pussy.

Even now, remembering the conversation, he cringed inwardly.

The creature just managed to blink at him, before Ichigo used his speed and sank the blade between his eyes.

He felt triumph when he saw the mask starting to crack, but his sense of victory was short-lived when the mask didn’t split in two.

“Damn it,” Ichigo swore under his breath as he looked into those eyes which were now clearly enraged and what followed was an ear-shattering scream which caused Ichigo to drop his dagger as he tried to cover his ears, before they started to bleed.

Unfortunately that was enough for the hollow to hit him with such force that his body flew across the room, until it collided hard with the wall, the back of his head thumping against it with such strength that Ichigo’s vision blackened momentarily.

He slid down the wall, everything around him spinning, his head throbbing.

Ichigo only managed to open his eyes enough to see that heart-shaped half-cracked mask in front of his face as the creature grabbed the front of his shirt, ready to finish him off.

“Stop,” Ichigo muttered weakly, raising his hand to the mask, in a vain attempt to push away the hollow which wouldn’t budge.

He was just about to use the last of his strength to try and squirm away out of the hollow’s grip when he picked up a well-known violent reiatsu, the raw power behind it making it even more difficult for him to stay conscious.

“Oi, ya piece of shit! Who allowed you in here?!” the seething voice was familiar, but the pounding in his head increased and God, he really hated his human body now.

What followed next was screeching and some inhuman sounds, his shirt freed from the hollow’s grip, allowing him to just sit on the floor as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to squash down the crawling nausea.

He probably had a concussion.

However, he clearly heard Grimmjow utter ‘Cero’ and there was a blast of red light dancing even behind his closed eyelids and then…

“Oi, shithead.”

A displeased growl.

Then his body was being shaken as strong arms gripped his shoulders, but he just tried to swat the nuisance away.

“What the hell, you ginger piece of shit, I am trying to help ya,” the voice was now an indignant snarl, but Ichigo just wanted some peace and quiet, god dammit.

“Mmm, go away,” Ichigo mumbled, his eyes still closed as his hand came in contact with Grimmjow’s masked cheek, shocked by its smoothness, the ridge feeling strange as he trailed his fingers over it. 

He was surprised that he still had a hand attached to his body with what he was doing, pretty sure that the arrancar would have ripped his arm off by now.

There was a beat of silence, the only sound in the confined space being his shaky breathing, not so much from the blows that the hollow inflicted upon him, but more out of nervousness that he was actually touching Grimmjow’s hollow mask and that the arrancar was allowing him to continue do so.

Soon enough, his hand slipped lower, his breath getting caught in his throat as his fingers came in contact with those jagged teeth which moved as Grimmjow finally spoke.

“Ungrateful brat. You are such a fuckin’ mess,” the arrancar said lowly, his voice not as nearly pissed off as Ichigo imagined it would be.

It was even a bit breathless which was odd enough that it propelled Ichigo to put in a massive effort and frown as he opened his eyes, only to be met with such an intent, vivid blue gaze that his heart did a somersault in his chest.

None of them said anything as they just stared at each other, Grimmjow’s eyes narrowed and assessing while Ichigo desperately tried to keep himself awake, because he felt that there was something in the way the arrancar was staring at him, as if trying to figure something out, his expression frustrated.

“Why did you come back? Why aren’t you out there, fighting someone powerful who doesn’t bitch at you every second?” Ichigo threw Grimmjow’s words right at him, the fact that he almost got killed by that hollow in this shitty room finally having caught up with his muddled brain and for what?

Just because he snapped at some short-tempered arrancar, who then decided to leave him in his human form in the middle of the hollow world while he went God knows where.

Something burned in Ichigo’s chest, the feeling so nasty that even he got a bit startled by its intensity.

“Bitter, Kurosaki?” Grimmjow sneered.

Before he could think it through, Ichigo fired back, “So what if I am? What’re you gonna do it about it, _Grimmjow_?”

No matter how much he wanted to close his eyes in that moment and let himself be pulled into the comfortable darkness, he wasn’t going to back down.

Not until he got his answer.

Grimmjow’s eyes burned wildly, so many emotions whirling like a tornado in those expressive eyes which were a perfect reflection of Grimmjow’s own personality and traits—unstable, aggressive, clever, fearless…

The fingers pressed into his shoulders, almost painfully, as the arrancar’s lips curled up in a snarl, baring those sharp, unusually white canines at him, considering that personal hygiene was not really at the top of the list of inhabitants of Hueco Mundo, although the arrancar did always look clean and fresh.

Come to think of it, how was his hair always so neatly styled when there was barely any water in Las Noches?

Unless Grimmjow used some hair gel and also brushed his teeth regularly, after every soul he devoured.

The image of the arrancar standing in front of the mirror every morning, fixing his hair and brushing his teeth like every normal person was so odd to him that Ichigo’s scowl deepened.

He was brought back out of his imagination by Grimmjow’s rough voice as the arrancar was right in his face, his words a deadly promise.

“I’m not gonna back down until I pull that shinigami asshole out of ya, using my bare hands, if I have to, so that you would stop whining at me like a lil bitch and getting’ pummeled by any weak-ass hollow you run into. Imma gonna be the only one to have the satisfaction of crushing that orange head of yours. That’s what I am gonna do.”

The threat was real, as well as the wicked grin that followed, but Ichigo couldn’t keep up anymore, his eyelids dropping low as he slurred, “I’d like to see you try, asshole…”

He had almost completely drifted away, but then there was something cold and soothing on his forehead and something brushed his bangs away, so fleeting and quick, as if it was a breeze.

He sighed in relief at the coolness against his throbbing forehead, stretching his body fully, wondering if he was lying on the floor, because the last thing he remembered was his body being in that uncomfortable sitting position.

“Such high maintenance,” somebody scoffed, but it didn’t matter, because it was already in the distance as Ichigo was floating among fluffy clouds which were unusually blue, the same shade as those eyes which kept invading his mind more frequently in the past weeks.

………………………………………..

Ichigo woke up with a groan, his throat dry and scratchy.

Still, he felt infinitely better than a few hours ago.

That was until he cracked his eyes open and turned his head to the side.

The sight that greeted him was enough to cause him to shot up into a sitting position, feeling slightly dizzy at the impulsive action.

“What the hell are you doing in my bed?!” Ichigo yelped, his voice once again sounding like a girl’s with how high it rose as he spotted the arrancar sleeping next to him.

Grimmjow’s vivid blue eyes popped open, his expression unhappy, mouth tugged in a scowl as he snapped, “Stop bein’ so fuckin’ loud. Also, this is my palace, so all the beds are mine. Dipshit.”

Then the arrancar closed his eyes, cursing him under his breath, but Ichigo still couldn’t recover from how hot Grimmjow’s voice sounded in the morning, so deep and raw with a husky edge to it—fuck.

Ichigo realized he was staring at him only when those eyes opened again, zeroing on him and startling him.

Then the arrancar sat up and what a slap to Ichigo that was.

The thin blanket fell to his waist as Grimmjow pushed himself up, his skin smooth and toned, the only imperfections being his hollow hole and the scar Ichigo left him with that ran across his muscular chest.

He was already used to Grimmjow’s usual state of undress as the arrancar mostly wore stuff that revealed his chest, but the realization that he had spent the night with a shirtless Grimmjow in his bed did things to his body that it shouldn’t have.

Ichigo raked his eyes all over Grimmjow’s body as the arrancar yawned, looking so relaxed and unguarded in that moment that Ichigo’s heart fluttered.

He knew that Grimmjow didn’t see him as a threat, because he was currently a so-called weakling while in his human form, but for the arrancar to let him see him like this, to trust him enough, was something that overwhelmed Ichigo more than it should have.

“Yo, Earth to Kurosaki. Ya still there?”

Ichigo blinked, Grimmjow’s face a mere inch from his own coming into his focus as the arrancar peered at him, his eyes knitted in a frown.

The sudden proximity, along with those thoughts which caused Ichigo’s chest to throb caused him to recoil from the arrancar as if he had been burnt.

He had been daydreaming for too long.

He jumped to his feet and moved far away, waving his hands in front of him, the words leaving him in a rush.

“Sure, sure. Here, right here, where would I be? Ha-ha.”

What the hell had been that awkward, obviously forced laugh at the end, he cringed inwardly, wanting to smack himself in the face.

Unfortunately, his odd behavior hadn’t gone unnoticed as the arrancar’s glower deepened and then he was being caged against the wall as Grimmjow materialized in front of him, his magnetic blue eyes searching his face, far too inquisitive for Ichigo’s comfort.

He tried to get away, not wanting to stay under Grimmjow’s scrutiny, but in doing so, he twisted his body in such a way that it came in contact with the arrancar’s, causing him to come to a shocking revelation.

“You’re hard!” Ichigo accused, his eyes wide in horror, mouth falling open as he felt Grimmjow’s not-so-small friend pressing into his thigh.

“Yeah, so?” Grimmjow grunted, his body still pressed against Ichigo’s, his expression unbothered, a flat look in his eyes as if wondering why Ichigo was making a big deal out of it.

Well, maybe, other than the fact that the usually bloodthirsty arrancar, who was out for his life was now sporting a very noticeable and palpable erection, it was doing things to Ichigo as well, especially because he could now feel those strong, big palms on his forearms, the hot breath on his ear, as well as those intelligent blue eyes staring into him, far too perceptive for Ichigo’s liking.

He felt the blush settling high on his cheekbones as he looked away, hating how his own member was stirring at the sudden contact with one very hot arrancar, because Ichigo did have eyes despite everything and also, he was still a teenage boy and his hormones were wild.

“What do you mean—so?! Why the hell are you hard in this moment? With me?!” Ichigo practically screeched, hating how high his voice was.

There was a beat of silence, before it was broken by Grimmjow’s laugh.

Ichigo quickly looked at the arrancar in front of him whose expression was now amused and condescending, causing Ichigo to scowl and somehow feel insulted.

Before he could say something, though, his brain stopped working for a few embarrassing seconds as Grimmjow caught his chin between his thumb and index finger, his eyes hooded and dangerous, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Don’t flatter yourself, brat. It has nothing to do with you, in particular. It’s just a natural reaction. Ya’re a guy, you should know. Unless ya’re some prude. You sure look like it.”

Grimmjow’s voice was husky and it didn’t help the alarmingly growing situation in Ichigo’s lower region, but he felt so indignant at the insult that he actually pushed at Grimmjow’s chest, his cheeks burning as he stomped away, his voice full of contempt as he said, “Fuck you. Unlike you, I can control myself.”

He realized that he shouldn’t have made that comment when the atmosphere shifted suddenly.

“Oh? Is that so?”

The shudder that crawled up his spine when Grimmjow said that behind him further confirmed that he had said the wrong thing.

The voice had been smokey and low, dripping with an intent Ichigo wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

However, he had no choice as a strong arm circled his waist form behind, lifting his body with ease.

“What the—Grimmjow put me down!” Ichigo screamed and trashed until he was dropped on his back on the bed.

“Yer wish is my command,” Grimmjow smirked as he crawled between his legs, his blue eyes alive with something way too dangerous which caused Ichigo’s pulse to skyrocket.

‘Wha—“ Ichigo started, but then his mind went blank as Grimmjow leered and said, “Now, let’s check if your control really is so superb, since you always think ya’re so much better than me,_ shinigami.”_

Ichigo’s eyes bulged out when Grimmjow hooked his fingers in the waistband of his sweatpants and pulled them down in one swift motion, exposing his legs and black briefs to the suddenly hungry eyes of one arrancar.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Ichigo yelped, the blush spreading all across his face as he sat up and tried to cover himself, but to no avail as strong hands grabbed his hips and pulled him down until Grimmjow was hovering above him, a predatory grin playing on his lips, his hands on the mattress, caging him in.

Ichigo swallowed hard as he stared into those amused eyes, dark with something unknown to Ichigo.

“Cat got yer tongue?” Grimmjow husked out, the voice going straight to Ichigo’s crotch.

“Not so mouthy now, eh shinigami? What if I do this?” Grimmjow drawled, his gaze intense and never leaving Ichigo’s as a hand settled on his half-hard dick over the thin fabric of his briefs.

Ichigo’s eyes almost bulged out at the sudden contact, an embarrassing half-whimper leaving his mouth.

He slapped his hand over his mouth in horror, looking at Grimmjow in bewilderment until the arrancar started laughing loudly, his head thrown back, exposing his strong throat.

Ichigo had no idea what was happening, but then the bastard gave his crotch a light squeeze, causing him to bite his tongue to stop himself from making any more humiliating sounds, his hips involuntarily bucking forward.

Grimmjow grinned at him, his sharp canines peeking out, eyes dark and predatory as he said in a superior manner, “You don’t seem to be in control, Kurosaki.”

Then his hand was gone from his crotch and the arrancar was just sneering down at him while Ichigo was blinking up at him and wow.

That was such a low, dirty move.

And the worst part was that he fell for it.

He wasn’t sure why he was suddenly so pissed off.

It wasn’t even because what Grimmjow did was practically considered sexual molestation, it was more because the arrancar did it to humiliate him and prove a point.

The terrible part was that once the initial shock was gone, Ichigo found himself in a hazy state, wanting to be touched more by the blue-haired asshole, but obviously he was the only one who actually desired that while Grimmjow apparently lived to toy with him.

He was angry enough that he could scream and yell at the arrancar, but surprisingly, he just pulled his sweatpants up silently, pushing Grimmjow away, who immediately obliged, still smirking at him, a triumphant look in his eyes.

Ichigo got up, not even glancing back and headed towards the door.

“Oi, where’re ya going’?”

He wasn’t going to dignify Grimmjow with a reply, he thought with determination as he opened the door and marched out.

“Oi, don’t be such a pussy, Kurosaki!! I WAS JUST MESSIN’ WITH YA!”

Grimmjow’s voice echoed through the monotone hallways of the palace in Las Noches and that was just the problem, wasn’t it?

It was all a joke to Grimmjow.

Ichigo clenched his fist and continued walking away, his dick still half-hard.

Even though he was furious at the arrancar, he was more annoyed at himself for actually lamenting the fact that Grimmjow did it just to prove a point and to ‘mess with him’ as he said, instead of actually doing it because he wanted him.

Fuck, he was seriously screwed in the head to actually sport a hard-on over a psycho, who wanted to crush him.

………………………………………..

“Ichigooooo!”

He had no idea how long he had been walking through the deserted streets of Las Noches when a female voice called out to him.

One he knew all too well.

But before he could even react, he was tackled to the ground, crushed in a bear-hug, his face buried between large boobs.

He felt his face explode with warmth and also, he was struggling for air as he managed to gasp out, “N-nel, can’t breathe.”

“Oops,” his ‘captor’ said and then he was released, taking in large gulps of air.

“I just couldn’t believe it was you when I saw that unmistakably bright, orange hair,” Nel exclaimed, staring at him with those warm, hazel eyes.

Despite everything, he felt happy seeing a friendly face here and also a bit guilty that he forgot Nel also lived in Hueco Mundo, having been too preoccupied with that blue-haired jerk.

“Yeah, it’s me alright. Good to see you, Nel. How have you been?” Ichigo asked, genuinely interested.

She wore a cheerful grin as she answered, “Pretty good. Hueco Mundo is so much better without Aizen, although it gets lonely sometimes with only me and Grimmjow left from the former Espadas.”

Ichigo looked away at that, feeling responsible for that for the most part.

“What’s that face for? I am not saying that they haven’t deserved their end,” Nel said as she gently caressed his cheek.

Ichigo looked into her eyes, blown away by her sincerity, but then again—she had been nothing but earnest ever since they met for the first time.

“What are you doing here?” Nel asked, changing the topic which Ichigo was grateful for.

“Had to get away from that annoying asshole,” Ichigo grumbled under his breath.

“Grimmjow? Figures that you would be here for him,” Nel said with a chuckle which caught Ichigo’s attention as he frowned in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

Nel had a knowing glint in her eyes which caused Ichigo’s ears to get warmer, but he held her gaze, too curious about the answer.

“Well, you do owe him a fight. That’s kind of the only thing he talks about. I think that the only time he truly looks energetic is when he starts ranting of all the ways he is going to disembody you,” Nel stated, far too excitedly.

Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest, sulking, “Great. I am so honored.”

“You should be. He had never talked about any of the other guys like that,” Nel said.

Ichigo looked at her, ready to ask what other guys when he saw that her gaze was casted downwards.

“Oh? What’s this?”

He barely had a second to feel horrified when he saw what she was staring at and then she poked him with his finger.

In his still half-hard dick.

What the…???

“WHAT THE HELL, NELL?!!!” Ichigo shrieked, covering his crotch with his hands defensively, blood rushing to his face.

“Grimm never wanted to show me his,” Nel pouted.

She actually pouted, reminding him of her child-form, considering she was kind of vulgar even more in that form than in her adult one.

Still, Ichigo sputtered at her statement, not even being able to imagine that situation without Grimmjow murdering her on the spot.

“You asked him to show you his dick and stayed alive?” Ichigo asked in disbelief.

“He is a big softie, deep down. He said that I was one sick bitch and to get the fuck away from him before he fires a cero in my face. He always jokes like that with me. That’s how he shows his affection,” Nel exclaimed, fully convinced in what she was saying.

Ichigo eyed her skeptically, thinking how somebody sure was delusional.

“Oh, but Ichigo, show me yours!” she clapped as she leaned towards him, her eyes glinting with interest.

“What?!” Ichigo sounded like a dying pelican as he scooted away from her, wondering how the hell was this happening to him.

“Come on, we are friends, I wanna see. I’ve never seen one, “ she pouted again, truly saddened by the fact that she had never seen a dick.

“It’s precisely because we are friends that you are not gonna see mine,” Ichigo stated, thinking how that was only one of the reasons.

The bigger reason was that she was not the arrancar he wanted to show his dick to.

Shit.

“Aww, come on, don’t be a meanie. Show me your weenie!” she chanted as she loomed over him, almost sitting in his lap.

“The fuck, no! Stop, that tickles!” Ichigo yelled breathlessly, as she started running her hands along his sides which were sensitive.

“Comeee on, I won’t even touch it much,” Nel pleaded and somehow managed to pull his sweatpants half-down while Ichigo squirmed on the ground, trying to stop her, his face drained from colour at her statement and then—

**“The. Fuck. Are. You. Doing?”**

Ichigo looked up, his heart stopping.

He hadn’t even sensed that reiatsu which was practically oppressing now, almost suffocating him.

Grimmjow was standing a few feet away from them, his expression murderous, eyes dark and slicing him in half with his gaze alone, his shoulders tense, jaw tight with rage.

Shit.

His heart roared in his chest and the atmosphere was so stifling that he actually lost the ability to even utter a word.

“Grimm!! Ichigo is about to show me his dick! Pull out yours, so we can measure who has a longer one!” Nel happily shouted, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

Ichigo choked on his spit, his ears burning at that while Grimmjow looked at her, completely unimpressed, his gunmetal eyes cold.

“Why measure when it’s obvious who is the alpha male?”

Ichigo glared at Grimmjow, who seemed dead serious, their gazes locked again.

“Besides, he is my prey. Find your own to play with and fuck off,” Grimmjow stated, his voice cutting the air as he drilled Nel with his gaze and before he knew it, Ichigo was being thrown over Grimmjow’s shoulder and manhandled.

“What the hell, put me down!” Ichigo yelled and hit Grimmjow’s back, but the asshole didn’t even budge and just slapped his ass, causing Ichigo to splutter.

“Shut it. Can’t believe ya made me look for ya, only to find ya gettin’ jerked off by the drooling moron here,” Grimmjow spat out, his reiatsu getting darker and more volatile.

“Nice to see you too, Grimm!” Nel shouted with joy, absolutely ignoring Grimmjow’s deadly mood.

“I wasn’t—“ Ichigo started in indignation, but this time Grimmjow squeezed his ass cheek harshly, causing him to let out a half-choked moan.

Grimmjow’s voice was deep and menacing as he growled lowly, “I’ll deal with ya when we get back to the palace.”

Other than the slight dread he felt, there was mostly anticipation and Ichigo couldn’t believe how messed up he was to actually look forward to getting to the palace, even though he knew that Grimmjow meant nothing sexual by that, since the arrancar’s only goal was to tear his body to pieces.

To make things even worse, Nel was staring at him from where she was still seated on the ground, blinking until her lips stretched into a wide grin as she flashed him a thumbs up and winked at him.

Ichigo groaned in embarrassment, his whole face heating up.

He really was too obvious.


	6. Chapter 6

The trip back to the palace was short and quick, since Grimmjow used sonido to get them back there, causing a wave of dizziness to hit Ichigo as the arrancar kept a tight hold on him, his legs and arms uselessly dangling as he was bent in half over that unbudging shoulder.

The temperamental jerk finally stopped when they got to the throne room, but Ichigo didn’t even get a second to himself to calm the contents of his stomach from the extremely fast pace they had been at when he was unceremoniously dropped on his ass.

“Umph!”

He let out a pained groan as his butt hit the cold tiles and he was pretty sure that his ass was definitely going to be sore and not in a good way.

He looked up, glaring at Grimmjow, who actually had the nerve to cross his arms over his mostly exposed, stupid, muscular chest and look pissy.

“What the hell was all that for, you bastard?!” Ichigo growled, still not trying to stand up, because he didn’t trust his body not to turn against him and the last thing he wanted to do was vomit in front of the arrancar.

He had more than enough humiliation for one day.

“It was cuz ya freaked out and ran off screaming like a bitch when I touched your dick, but ya let that big-boobed moron fuckin’ fondle it. Double fuckin’ standards, Kurosaki.”

Ichigo gaped at Grimmjow in disbelief, taking in the completely serious expression the arrancar wore, not missing the offended note in his voice—like, _what even?_

Was this asshole really trying to make him feel guilty about having an appropriate reaction, might he say so, to him groping his crotch just for pettiness and revenge and not because he truly wanted to do something functional with it?

At least Nel had a genuine interest in his member, he thought sourly.

Also—“I did not scream like a lil bitch, you sick freak.” Ichigo spat out, throwing daggers at the arrancar with his gaze alone.

Grimmjow’s gaze simply became condescending at his response as he tilted his head to the side and sneered, “Sure, ya didn’t.”

Ichigo was livid by now, although he was sure that his face wasn’t beet red just because of anger.

“Whatever, you psycho. And I did not let Nel fondle it, she just wanted to have a look,” Ichigo blurted out, before he realized the words that actually left his mouth.

It was just that Grimmjow always got under his skin like this, causing him to lose his temper in a matter of seconds and spout the first thing that came to his mind.

Apparently, the arrancar was not satisfied with his answer either, because he wore a dark expression, those eyes burning with something so intense that Ichigo felt short of breath for a moment as Grimmjow crouched in front of him.

Ichigo did not want to look away, despite the way those cat-like eyes seemed as if they were looking right into his mind, the sheer stubbornness forbidding him to back down.

“And what if I want to have a look?”

Ichigo blinked for a moment, his brain shutting down as Grimmjow asked what he asked in that husky voice, his eyes hooded and challenging.

The arrancar kept his gaze steady while Ichigo’s brain desperately tried to function again, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to form an appropriate response and failed.

Finally, Ichigo managed to say something, albeit in a more squeaky voice than he intended, but who could blame him?

“Why the hell would you want to see my dick, you pervert?!”

Grimmjow grinned at that, flashing his pointy, white teeth while leaning in to whisper in his ear.

Ichigo’s body was locked in place, his face erupting in flames as that hot breath hit the shell of his ear when Grimmjow whispered in an alluring voice, “Maybe to compare sizes. You did seem to be in denial when I said mine is bigger than yours. Show me yours and I’ll show you mine, _Kurosaki_.”

The way Grimmjow practically purred his name in that sinful voice was enough to make his dick twitch with interest, the familiar heat pooling low in his stomach as he came face to face with those smug, cerulean eyes glinting under the artificial white lights high above them.

He was still stunned and a bit dazed at the prospect of seeing Grimmjow’s dick which was probably why he licked his dry lips and swallowed, before quietly answering, “Okay…”

The arrancar definitely did not expect him to agree, the flash of surprise that crossed his features not going unnoticed.

However, the arrancar’s expression quickly smoothed into a neutral one as Grimmjow’s grin grew wider and predatory.

“Come on then. Pull it out,” Grimmjow demanded which caused Ichigo to flinch slightly as he realized that he actually agreed to show his dick to the arrancar.

His heart started beating faster, but he knew that he couldn’t back down now or Grimmjow would call him a little bitch again.

But, because his brain was apparently reduced to the mentality of a middle-schooler, he responded, “You first.”

Grimmjow blinked with confusion for a moment, before rolling his eyes at his immaturity.

Even Ichigo would cringe at how awkward he was, but he was too busy trying to think of a way to get out of this mess that he got himself into.

Nevertheless, he got pretty distracted when Grimmjow got up wordlessly and practically pulled his dick out, holding it in his hand, his voice gruff and emotionless as he asked, “Happy now?”

Ichigo couldn’t even answer, still staring in shock at that…Thing in front of him…

There was no doubt that Grimmjow was endowed and it was now that Ichigo realized why the arrancar had told Nel that he was the alpha male with so much confidence.

Grimmjow’s cock was definitely bigger than his, even now when it was not even erect, but Ichigo was surprised just how entranced he was with the arrancar’s dick.

It was not like he thought penises in particular were attractive, despite the gay porn he sometimes indulged in late at night in his room when everyone was asleep, but what aroused him was the way the guys in porn stroked each other, toyed with their cocks until they were panting, straining with an effort to make their pleasure last longer until they couldn’t hold out anymore.

So, it definitely came as a surprise that he was somehow so fascinated with Grimmjow’s cock which was like any other, just longer and thicker.

Also, in his mind, he must have created an image that Grimmjow’s dick would look completely different than his, because he was an arrancar and honestly, he expected to see three balls instead of two, or perhaps a hollow hole in the middle.

Now that all of that has been shattered, he realized that Grimmjow had a more than functional dick, just like him, and the desire to actually touch it increased even more than it should have which startled Ichigo.

He must have been staring at it too long, although he was lost in thoughts so much that he missed the moment when Grimmjow tucked his dick back in and kneeled in front of him.

“Your turn.”

Grimmjow’s voice was low and rougher than before and it was only when the arrancar hooked his fingers in the waistband of his sweatpants that Ichigo realized what was happening, letting out rushed breath as his hands shot to grab Grimmjow’s wrists.

However, he wasn’t fast enough, the arrancar having already swiftly pulled his underwear down, exposing his half-hard dick to those cunning eyes.

Ichigo looked away, his heart hammering in his chest, the warmth consuming his cheeks.

There was a beat of silence , before Grimmjow opened his stupid mouth.

“Huh. Guess the carpet matches the drapes,” Grimmjow noted in a thoughtful voice which was when Ichigo dared look, following the arrancar’s gaze and feeling mortified when he realized that the arrancar was staring at his pubes which were bright orange as his hair.

Fuck.

He usually shaved them, but that kind of wasn’t on the list of his priorities when he was packing to go to Hueco Mundo.

He felt so mortified, his face burning as he quickly started pulling his briefs and sweatpants up while Grimmjow threw his head back, revealing the wide column of his neck as he let out a bark of laughter which echoed through the huge hall.

“Asshole,” Ichigo grunted out and hit the still laughing arrancar in the shoulder, before he quickly got up and started walking away.

He had finally gotten to the door and was about to enter the hallway of the palace leading to god knows where when Grimmjow blocked his way, materializing in front of him so suddenly that Ichigo almost stumbled into him.

Luckily, he managed to catch himself in the last moment and purposefully looked to the side, his voice commanding as he gritted out, “Move, Grimmjow.”

“Why so pissed, Kurosaki? Can’t handle the fact that I am the superior male? Don’t fuckin’ act so surprised, shinigami. “

Grimmjow’s voice was filled with contempt and Ichigo slowly turned his head until their gazes locked.

Despite the way Grimmjow’s lips were curled, the condescending glint in his eyes was drowned in that deadly force which made Ichigo think for a moment.

It seemed like the blue-haired idiot kept misunderstanding his reactions and thinking that Ichigo was looking down on him when the actual truth couldn’t be any farther than that.

Even now, Grimmjow had misinterpreted him walking away from embarrassment and thought that it was in fact because Ichigo was annoyed that Grimmjow wasn’t in fact lying about the size of his dick which, in that asshole’s mind, was another testimony to his great power.

Somehow, the previous humiliation and irritation melted away until Ichigo pressed his lips in a tight line, staring at the solid presence in front of him in frustration.

How was he supposed to get it through that thick, blue skull that he wasn’t looking down on him?

Well, there was one way which he was too chicken-shit to try out, but he must have still been in that state of haze after getting an eyeful of Grimmjow’s dick, along with all the events from that day, which was why he thought with resolve, ‘fuck it’ and just went for it.

Grimmjow must have also sensed the change in his demeanor, because his grin was replaced by a light frown as the arrancar opened his mouth.

“Oi, Kuro—!”

The rest of the words were muffled into one unintelligible sound as Ichigo dove right in, grabbing the back of Grimmjow’s neck and using all his force to pull the arrancar closer into a kiss which he had been craving for, for quite some time now.

………………………………………..

Kurosaki was actually kissing him.

Grimmjow’s brain stopped working, the incredulity of the situation too much for him to think properly.

One moment, the shithead was storming off, looking all defiant and annoyed and the in the next he was lunging at him, pressing his lips so hard against his, enough to make them bruise, after Grimmjow’s particular taunt.

It made no fuckin’ sense.

Has the idiot lost his mind, Grimmjow wondered, still feeling disturbed.

However, his body, having overcome the initial shock, had no problem in reacting to Kurosaki’s tongue asking, no—_demanding_, for access, his mouth granting it on its own, only for Kurosaki to let out that fuckin’ sigh as if the whole weight of the world has been lifted over his shoulders just because he was kissing him.

What kind of game was the shithead playing at, Grimmjow wondered as he still stood rigid, annoyed that he was responding to the kiss, his tongue battling with Kurosaki’s for dominance as the brat’s hands moved from his nape to actually hold his face in his hands, far too gently for someone Grimmjow constantly threatened he would kill.

This was madness.

Why would that shinigami suddenly act like this, as if he would drown if he didn’t kiss him, tasting every crevice in his mouth?

A slight tremor of pleasure involuntarily travelled along Grimmjow’s spine as Kurosaki sucked on his tongue and fuck, this was wrong.

The only reason he could think of Kurosaki doing this was only because—

That deceitful motherfucker, Grimmjow thought, his expression hardening as he clenched his fist on the side.

………………………………………..

Ichigo was so lost in the taste of Grimmjow’s mouth that he hadn’t even noticed how the arrancar actually stopped responding to the kiss until his shoulder was grabbed tightly and he was harshly pushed away.

He stumbled a few steps back, still a bit dazed, not expecting to be on a receiving end of Grimmjow’s glare which threatened to burn him alive.

“Why did—“ Ichigo started, only to be cut off in an instant.

“You’re a real fuckin’ masterpiece, ya know that?” Grimmjow sneered, his voice ugly and not at all amused.

Ichigo frowned at that, feeling even more lost.

He opened his mouth to ask what the hell the arrancar was talking about when Grimmjow added in a cold voice, “Do ya really think that if you offer yourself to me like a lil whore that you are and let me fuck that tight, round ass of yours, I am going to lose interest in fighting you? Think again, Kurosaki.”

Ichigo’s heart was slamming in his chest, his eyes open wide in shock, jaw slack open.

He couldn’t believe that this asshole actually thought that he would be so pathetic and low to actually make a move on him just so that Grimmjow would stop trying to kill him?

First of all, he knew that even if they somehow ended up in bed, doing whatever, that the arrancar would never give up on his intent of ending his life.

That was never even an option, or his goal, Ichigo thought, feeling his anger rising and replacing his feeling of hurt at getting humiliated like that by Grimmjow.

He knew that the arrancar despised him, but somehow he thought that Grimmjow still knew him better than that.

The realization that he was wrong made his chest tighten and he hated himself for actually caring about Grimmjow’s opinion enough for it to cause him pain.

Still, his expression became closed off, although he was sure that the anger was visible on his face and most of all heard in his voice as he responded.

“I thought that you had a higher opinion of me than that despite hating me so much. My mistake.”

Grimmjow was staring at him intently, his gaze still furious and unconvinced, but he saw a flicker of hesitation in those crystal blue eyes.

Not like it mattered anymore, Ichigo thought as he said in a detached voice, “This isn’t working out. Open the garganta, so I can go back home and when I get back my powers, I’ll come for you so that we can get this over with once and for all.”

“Don’t fuckin’ joke with me, Kurosaki!” Grimmjow snarled right in his face, seething over him, those few inches of height he had over him making him seem more intimidating than he was.

Well, at least in Ichigo’s mind, Grimmjow stopped inducing that rational doze of fear a while back, when he got preoccupied with the desire to do something else with the arrancar other than clash their swords.

Ichigo kept his cool, knowing that he couldn’t let his emotions take over, because he would do, or say something really stupid and he had enough of embarrassment and rejection for one day.

He looked up into those eyes, Grimmjow’s teeth bared in a low snarl, but Ichigo didn’t respond to the taunt as he calmly said, “I am dead serious. This was a waste of our time. I have a better chance of getting my powers back, if I just wait it out as Urahara said. I shouldn’t have forced it.”

That wasn’t the only thing he shouldn’t have forced, he thought solemnly.

Grimmjow was breathing quickly, his jaw tight with rage, eyes burning with animalistic anger, but there was that hesitation again, although it didn’t matter anymore.

Ichigo just wanted to go home.

Tired of Grimmjow’s silence, Ichigo finally sighed and ran a hand across his face, feeling exhausted.

“Look, if you don’t want to, then I’ll go and ask Nel to open a garganta. I am sure she’ll be more than happy to help me and—“

He was interrupted when Grimmjow grabbed his wrist and pulled it away from his face, startling him slightly as he pulled him closer, glaring at him, his eyes wild.

Grimmjow gritted his teeth, ”Don’t go to that perverted moron. And, ya better keep your promise, or else, Kurosaki…”

Ichigo blinked at Grimmjow, surprised by his sudden change of attitude and then there was a garganta next to him, but the arrancar still wasn’t letting go, staring at him intently.

“…right,” Ichigo finally answered and added, “I am going to need my hand back in order to go…”

Somehow that irritated Grimmjow even more as he tsked and squeezed his wrist one last time, before finally letting go.

“Get the fuck out of my sight, shinigami,” Grimmjow uttered darkly and then he was gone.

Ichigo swallowed hard, his mask of impassiveness crumbling as he chuckled dryly.

“Yeah…Should’ve done that a long time ago,” he whispered to himself, before stepping into darkness.

………………………………………..

It was a stupid idea to get drunk in a bar alone, but he just couldn’t stay at his house with his thoughts.

Every shade of fuckin’ blue reminded him of that stupid asshole even after a week had passed after he got rejected and accused of wanting the arrancar just so that his life wouldn’t be in danger anymore.

What a fucking joke!

How could Grimmjow think that he was such a coward to actually do something like that?

The thought of that bastard prompted him to actually accept the suggestion of the guy he had been dancing with for the past half hour, or more like the guy who had been grinding against him while squeezing his ass, for them to actually go somewhere more quiet.

Ichigo wasn’t stupid.

He knew what the guy probably meant by that and even if he didn’t, the hungry look in those eyes as the guy kept telling him how ‘fuckin’ hot’ he was while rubbing his obvious erection against Ichigo’s thigh and crotch was dead giveaway of what the guy wanted.

However, Ichigo had not been as nearly as turned on as the guy who was now leading him towards some alley near the bar, despite the fact that it was nice having somebody else’s body pressed against him and also, the guy had more than a pleasant face to look at.

Despite all of that and the gasp he let out as that skilled mouth worked over the skin of his neck, moving up to suck his earlobe, this wasn’t it.

This guy’s eyes were chocolate brown and he wanted cerulean blue eyes to look at him with such lust.

Also, this guy was his height while the one he wanted was slightly taller.

“Like that, huh?” the guy asked in a husky voice, but it wasn’t the right kind of smokey and rough tone that caused Ichigo’s body to shudder in anticipation.

That was why, Ichigo stopped him with a hand on his wrist when the guy started unzipping his jeans.

“What’s wrong?” the guy asked, a displeased expression on his face.

Ichigo shook his head, to show how he actually didn’t want this and also to clear his mind a bit from the drunken haze.

“Sorry, I can’t. You are handsome, but you are not—“ Ichigo started and then he cut himself off.

He didn’t want to be an even bigger asshole by telling this guy that he wasn’t what he wanted.

Too late for that, he thought as the guy pulled his hand out of his grip and pinned him to the wall hard, causing Ichigo to hiss.

“What is it, pretty boy? Somebody else on your mind? Well, sorry, but tonight I am the one who’s gonna fuck you, fuckin’ tease.”

Ichigo widened his eyes, his heart beat accelerating at the sudden change in the guy’s expression which was now ugly and dangerous, his voice coarse and sadistic as he smirked at him.

This guy wasn’t playing around, Ichigo thought as he brought his hands up to push the guy away.

Unfortunately, he was too slow, the guy having grabbed his wrists and brought them above his head as he placed his knee between his thighs, rubbing it against his crotch.

Ichigo took a sharp intake, trying to twist away from the surprisingly strong grip of the asshole, who was mercilessly rubbing his knee against his clothed dick, so much that it was starting to hurt.

“I don’t think so,” the guy spat out, his grin wicked.

“Fuck off, psychopath!” Ichigo yelled angrily and did the only thing he thought off.

He buttheaded the guy with all his might, the pain immediately exploding across his temples.

Stars danced behind his eyes as he winced, bringing his hand to his forehead, but at least he was free.

“You fuckin’ prick. I am going to kill you!” The guy roared and Ichigo knew that he was serious, especially when he managed to open his eyes and see that the guy was bleeding from his forehead, seething with rage as he grabbed a metal pole from the ground and started marching towards him.

“Fuck,” Ichigo cursed under his breath as he tried to look for some weapon, but there was nothing nearby.

So, the only thing he could do was cross his arms in front of his face when the guy swung the pole towards him.

He expected the hit, but instead chills ran through his body as the familiar reiatsu burned at the edge of his awareness.

“The only one to kill him is gonna be me,” an icy voice said and when Ichigo lowered his hands he saw Grimmjow’s hand around the pole, having stopped it from harming him.

The arrancar wasn’t looking at him, his posture relaxed as he glared at the guy, who couldn’t see him, but was looking paler by each passing second as he realized that something invisible was preventing him from making a hit.

“What the,” Ichigo’s attacker uttered in confusion, but Grimmjow gave him no chance as he leered, lowly whispering, “Bye, now.”

The next thing Ichigo knew, the guy was flying over the street with how hard Grimmjow flung him and Ichigo could hear the guy screaming for his life, but he couldn’t even feel sorry for him, since he tried to force himself onto him and then even hurt him.

Also, he had bigger issues to deal with.

Like, one violent arrancar, who was now facing him, his eyes raking all over him.

Ichigo felt self-conscious, thinking how he probably looked like shit, in his jeans and simple black v-neck T-shirt, his hair messy and wild, a large bump, or bruise probably having formed across his forehead.

Not to mention the flush in his cheeks, or his unfocused gaze from all the drinks he chugged down.

Grimmjow was now scowling at him and Ichigo immediately crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

“What are you doing here? I still haven’t got my powers back” Ichigo spat out.

He saw how Grimmjow clenched his jaw at that, but then he tilted his head to the side, his smirk condescending,” Yeah, that much is obvious since ya were about to get beaten by a human. Seriously, Kurosaki, can ya get weaker?”

In addition to his head throbbing, irritation surged to the surface due to Grimmjow’s insult which was why he simply bit out, “Fuck you.”

He had no time to waste on the arrancar, despite the fastening thrum in his chest.

He made a move to leave, but Grimmjow prevented him by standing in front of him, blocking his path.

“You don’t get to fuck with my head, Kurosaki and then just walk away like nothing happened,” Grimmjow said lowly, his expression irked.

Ichigo looked him straight in the eye and flatly responded, “Why not? I don’t owe you anything.”

That was apparently the last straw, Grimmjow’s eyes widening for a moment, before his expression hardened, pale blue eyes shining with rage.

“Yeah, you do. The thing that you stole,” Grimmjow stated in a sharp voice.

Ichigo frowned, wondering what the hell was the jerk talking about when all his thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

In a flash he found himself pressed against the wall again, but this time the person caging him in was different.

This time, Ichigo didn’t feel the need to flee immediately, his heart jumping wildly in his chest as his mouth parted at the way Grimmjow was now staring at him, his expression torn, his eyes animated and slightly disdainful.

Before Ichigo had time to question, or think about it longer, Grimmjow had already made his move.

The last thing he saw were blue eyes burning with firmness, the arrancar’s mouth twisted into a scowl, but so, _so _incredibly soft as they covered Ichigo’s.

Grimmjow’s fingers dug hard into the skin between his neck and shoulder, the pressure strong enough to cause him to gasp, his mouth opening under the arrancar’s insistent one.

Forced, or not, Grimmjow wasted no time, a low growl rising at the back of his throat as he plunged his tongue into Ichigo’s mouth, wet and hot, causing Ichigo’s heart to pound so quickly that he thought he was going to get a heart attack.

He was still angry at the arrancar for just appearing out of nowhere and acting the way he wanted to, completely disregarding Ichigo’s actual opinions and feelings, but at the same time the blue-haired asshole sure knew how to kiss, Ichigo begrudgingly admitted to himself, surrendering to the warm tongue sliding over his. Ichigo pressed forward, returning the kiss with full force, both of them still wired and angry, their teeth clashing, lips bruised from the sheer force they both put into it, as if they were in a battle that neither one wanted to lose. However, no matter how skillful of a kisser Grimmjow was, Ichigo couldn’t just forget the things that the arrancar said to him, along with the mistrust in those eyes that haunted him far too often which was why he bit Grimmjow’s lower lip hard enough to draw out blood.

The arrancar hissed and pulled away with a pained grunt, “Ow, what the fuck, motherfucker?!”

Ichigo licked Grimmjow’s blood from his own lips, ignoring the way his stomach clenched at the way Grimmjow’s eyes glinted hungrily as he followed that movement.

“I am not your whore, remember?” Ichigo spat out, his gaze relentless as he refused to break eye-contact.

Grimmjow seemed taken-aback for a moment and Ichigo tried very hard not to get distracted by Grimmjow’s kiss-reddened mouth, because he couldn’t give in.

At least, not now and not like this.

He had no idea why Grimmjow kissed him when he knew that the arrancar wanted nothing like that, since he had been very clear in his aim of killing him no matter what, but it didn’t matter.

Ichigo still had some dignity left, although the easiest thing would be just to lean in and continue kissing the arrancar for hours, but instead he placed his hands on Grimmjow’s chest and pushed him away.

He didn’t need an answer.

Not really.

So, he side-stepped Grimmjow, glancing at him out of the corner of his eyes, noticing how the arrancar stood in place, his shoulders tense, fists clenched next to his body, mouth downturned in an angry scowl while Grimmjow glared at the concrete.

Whatever, Ichigo thought, ignoring his traitorous heart which kept skipping in his chest.

He was almost out of the alley when he felt raw reiatsu crackling behind him.

Before he could turn around, a possessive hand grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around so fast that he almost lost balance.

“What the—“ Ichigo yelled, annoyed, but then there was a hand on his hip, the iron-grip preventing him from pulling away as Grimmjow got into his personal space so much that their foreheads were pressed together.

The hand from his shoulder was now on his throat, fingers curling tightly around it, causing Ichigo to wince as electric blue eyes sliced into him viciously.

“Don’t fucking walk away from me like I am nothin’, you ginger piece of shit.”

Ichigo felt breathless when he heard Grimmjow’s voice, so detached and full of rage.

It was as if something possessed the arrancar, causing him to be more temperamental and unpredictable and for the first time in a long time, Ichigo had no idea what the Grimmjow would do next.

That, along with that foreign look in those icy blue eyes, and tightening fingers around his neck, truly scared Ichigo.


End file.
